Running
by bbwzoey86
Summary: Will be set during The Purge: Anarchy. It will be an OCXLeo story, this is my very first Fanfiction I hope you enjoy it and apologise beforehand for poor spelling
1. Chapter 1

Hi so this is my first Fanfiction story and I decided to start with The Purge. Sometimes I skip read after I write so I apologise beforehand on any spelling mistakes, I hope you enjoy the story. The story is Leo Barnes and OC (female), it will be a T for now but may be an MA later.


	2. Chapter 2

It was the first time that Rowan had truly been alone, she had finally moved out of her parents' home and headed to LA. Her mother had been less than happy to see her only child leave the nest, her mother Janet had become overbearing and controlling. Now twenty-one she wanted to see the world, she lived in a small town in Nevada, where everyone knew everyone's business. Rowan had never had many friends in her hometown, she thought herself an outcast and a bit of a nerd.

She was not like the popular girls in class, she did not like going to parties; getting drunk or high. Boys never really took an interest in her because she was quiet and shy, she never knew what to say to them. Worried that she would make an ass out of herself and be bullied throughout the remainder of high school.

College was never on the cards for Rowan, she hated high school even though she graduated with honours. It was not that her mother did not encourage her because she did, she did everything to give her daughter everything that she needed. Sometimes it was a struggle for her mother, they never had much money but Rowan never complained. She was proud of where she came from, her mother had raised all alone and without her father's help.

The last Rowan heard of her father was that he was in jail after another DUI, her father Anthony was an alcoholic and had never been around throughout her childhood. Rowan often wondered what attracted her mother to her father and how they even managed to conceive a child. Her mother had hated her father, Anthony had abandoned her mother when she needed him the most. After breaking the news of her pregnancy, he freaked out and left. Her mother was left to go through the pregnancy alone, her mother had no one. Rowan's grandparents were long gone and her uncle lived on the other side of the country and couldn't do anything to help. Her uncle worked in a garage somewhere in Florida, he did not earn a lot of money and had never set eyes on Rowan on person.

Rowan's mother worked in Walmart as a cashier, the money wasn't much but it was enough to keep a roof over their heads and clothes on their backs. Rowan had even taken a job there after high school it had taken three years to save enough money to leave for LA. Her poor mother was heartbroken that she was to be left alone, but what she worried about the most was her daughter's safety. Worried that during the purge that she would no longer be able to keep her daughter safe, Rowan tried to reassure her that she would be fine and that she could protect herself. It had taken several months to convince her mother that it was a good idea, she was adult now and that she could make her own decisions.

After many discussions with her mother Rowan packed as much as she could carry and jumped onto a bus heading to LA. Saying goodbye to her mom was harder than she could imagine; she hugged Rowan so tightly that she could barely breathe. During that moment she insisted that her daughter call her as soon as she stepped off the bus, at least to know that she was okay. Janet had heard how dangerous LA could be even when it was not purge night, she had slipped a small Smith and Weston in Rowan's bag. Rowan had never liked guns and hated the idea of having it on her person, but decided to accept the gift as her mom would not have taken no as an answer.

Before leaving her hometown behind Rowan had found a small studio apartment in downtown LA, it wasn't the best place in town but the rent was cheap and she could survive for a while on her savings whilst she found a job to pay the bills. It had taken some weeks before she finally found somewhere, she had found a waitressing job at a diner not far from the apartment, she had been told of the job by her new neighbours. Their names where Zoe and Eva, Eva's father also lived with them too but Rowan never saw him much. Eva had informed her he wasn't in the best of health and she was worried that she could no longer afford to pay for his medication. Rowan and Eva had been a great comfort to one another. Before Rowan knew it time had flown and the dreaded night of the purge had grown closer, the one night that she hated and caused her great worry.


	3. Chapter 3

It was the day of the Purge, the day that Rowan dreaded the most, her mother had already called her that morning before she had left for work. Her mother had warned to her to stay safe and that she had a terrible feeling that something was about to happen to her only child. Rowan still carried the weapon that her mother had given her on the day that she had left, it was not only because of the Purge that she had it with her. It was also that she heard that many people in that neighbourhood had been held at gunpoint and mugged. She had often worked in the diner late at night and did not want to walk outside without something to protect her.

However so far Rowan had only been cat called as she worked home and grabbed by horny old men in the diner as she worked. She had put up with it as she needed the job to pay her bills, she had to try so hard not to slap them in their stupid ass faces. But the creeps were good tippers and she had to pretend that she was none the wiser to their wandering hands.

Rowan had not yet dated since she arrived at LA, although she was not short of admirers, Carlos had tried many times to persuade her to go on a date with him but she had heard rumours that he was a bit of a male slut. Tanya had even tried to convince her but she did not like him in that way, she knew that once he had her then he would soon lose interest. He had asked her several times to give her a ride home, but as she lived close by Rowan would refuse; she did not trust his intentions. Rowan was no virgin she had been with men before but she never had the best luck with them. The last relationship ended badly after she found her boyfriend in bed with her so called best friend, she had not trusted men ever since. Friends had warned her that she should not tarnish men with the same brush, but inside she was scared to open herself up again.

That morning at the diner it was busy than Rowan had first thought it would be, she had blamed the preparation for the annual Purge. People buying supplies to secure their homes against looters and intruders, it would be the first time that she would spent the night alone. It made her nervous thinking about it that she found herself becoming distracted as she worked. It caused her to make small mistakes on orders and getting yelled at by the manager.

Rowan was moved behind to behind the counter, serving coffee and drinks to the customers. Eva had walked behind the counter to speak to her, she had noticed that the young girl had plenty on her mind. They had become close friends over the months that Rowan had moved next door, she was worried that something may be plaguing her.

'Everything okay Row?' Eva asks her, pulling Rowans attention away from the customers.

'Yeah I'm good. Why do you ask?'

'You look like you have your head up in the clouds'

'I'm sorry. It's this dam night, I hate it' Rowan tells her as she puts away the coffee jug 'It's the first time I will be on my own and I'm worried about my mom'

'Why don't you come and spend the night with me and Cali? my dad will be there too'

'Are you sure, about that? I don't want to be in the way or anything'

'Yes. If you want to, I'm sure Cali and my dad would be okay if you stayed over' she tells Rowan 'We are friends and I would worry if you were on your own'

'Thanks Eva that's kind of you'

'It's nothing. I don't have an extra room but you could crash on the sofa'

'That's okay by me. Are you sure this is okay?'

'I'm sure come over at four. I have to stay late and talk with the boss but Zoe and my dad should be at home'

'Thanks, so much Eva. I appreciate it'

Rowan wraps her arms around Eva's neck and hugs her, grateful to be sharing the night with her friends.

'What's going on here?'

Rowan recognises the familiar voice as she pulls away she finds Carlos watching them intently.

'Eva has invited me to spend the Purge with her and the family'

'That's great Rowan. That's nice of you Eva'

'Well Rowan lives on her own and her mom is back home. I think safety in numbers would be best tonight' Eva tells him.

'You should have told me Rowan you could have stayed over at my place' he looks at Rowan and winks at her, causing Rowan to roll her eyes.

'In your dreams Carlos. Not going to happen, Eva lives next door and makes more sense. At least I won't have to worry about your wandering hands'

'Like I would ever do that to you Rowan, I am a gentleman afterall'

'Yeah, Yeah Carlos keep telling yourself that. You're a total man whore' Rowan tells him.

'I am shocked Rowan at how little you think of me' he tells her as he acts faked shocked.

'Get back to work' Rowan picks up a cloth and throws it at his face, causing him to laugh before he walks away.

Rowan notices the big boss looking their way as she glares at both Rowan and Eva, slowly she turns and looks back at Eva.

'I think we should get back to work. Darth Vader is looking this way'

'Yeah your right I will see you after my shift alright' Eva tells her as she walks back towards to the tables.

'Thanks again Eva'

'No problem'

Rowan felt herself relax after her short talk with Eva, she hoped that the shift that day would soon be over so that she could get home before the crazies came out for the night. The last thing she needed was to bump into one of those guys. Rowan had always been against the Purge, she hated the idea of innocent people being slaughtered. It was usually people like Rowan who were killed, she came from a family that never had much money. It was always the rich that were safely locked away in their large homes, with safety systems to keep their families safe. She believed it was a way to get rid of poor people off the streets so they didn't have to pay for their welfare. They did not give a shit if they all killed each other, just as long as they lived.

During her break she called her mom, making sure that her house was secure before the Purge began. Standing outside the diner she calls her mom on her cell phone; the lunch hour rush was almost over and soon enough she could head home.

'I told you sweetie I will be alright. I have Tom here and he will keep me safe, don't you worry about me' her mom tells her. Tom was her mother's boyfriend they had been seeing each other for some time before she left for her new life, he was a great guy. He had been sweet to her mother and treated her like a princess, he was kind to her too as he never had kids of his own.

'I will always worry about you mom. I miss you so much'

'I miss you too jellybean'

Her mom had always named her Jellybean since she could remember, neither of whom could remember where it had come from.

'It worries me that you are so far away and this stupid Purge deal is tonight'

'I know, I know'

'My neighbour Eva has invited me to stay with her and her family tonight. So, I won't be alone tonight, so you won't have to worry about me either' Rowan tells her.

'That's great. Can you trust them?'

'Mom. Yes, I can trust them, I work with Eva and she is very kind to me' she answers quickly 'She told me about the job and even trained me'

'Well if you're sure. I just hate that you are so far away and I cannot protect you'

'I will be alright I swear'

'You better. Call me tomorrow Rowan, let me know that you are okay'

'I will mom. I promise you, stay safe' Rowan reassures her as she begins to fidget, her feet are causing her pain that day and could not wait to remove her uncomfortable shoes.

'Stay safe Jelly bean, I love you'

'I love you too, bye mom'

'Bye'

Rowan ends the phone call and places her cell phone back into her apron, taking a deep breath she walks back inside and helps Eva during the busy dinner service. The rest of the day dragged on until it was the end of her shift, the rest of her friends have a little longer to work. She hugs each them goodbye, she even finds herself hugging Carlos and wishes them a safe night. Eva promises to see her later that night, Rowan soon leaves and heads home. The streets are still bustling as people are rushing home from work just as she was, small stores were trying to sell the last of their wears to the purgers.

As she finally arrives at her apartment she decides to have a quick shower and change into some comfortable clothes before heading to Eva's place, but before she set off she sat down and had a rest before all hell would break loose.


	4. Chapter 4

Resting her tired feet after a long day at the diner; Rowan begin to bask in the quiet of her apartment even though the silence was broken by the cars driving past on the street outside and neighbours making a noise in the adjoining apartments. She did not regretting moving to LA and starting anew; she needed a change in her life as she worried that she would never amount to anything. Although she worked as a waitress in a diner she finally decided to return to community college; even though she was not looking forward to the idea but she did not want to be a waitress forever. The pay was the best and was a struggle to get by and often she had to take extra shifts so she could pay her bills. She was still deciding on which classes to attend and put it off until after the purge in case something happened to her. The purge night was unpredictable, there were times that you were left alone and people would leave you be. Then there were others who were intent on harming you but giving up when they realise they cannot break inside. Rowan hoped on this night that she would be safe in the company of her friend and her family; they could protect one another and keep them from harm.

No longer to sit longer Rowan decided to pack her overnight bag for Eva's, packing a change of clothes and her handy pistol in case in was needed. Rowan had hoped that she would never have to fire that gun and it was good to have in her purse. Instead of waiting for Eva to finish her shift at the diner she decided to head on over to her apartment hoping that Cali and Papa Rico were home. She could not bear to be alone; the purge was making her nervous and putting her on edge.

Locking up her apartment tight as she hoped that no one would break in and steal her stuff, she had tried to hide anything of value and hoped they would not look hard enough. Rowan made her way to Eva's apartment and knocked hard on the door, hoping that someone was home. She waited patiently at the closed door, until she heard footsteps coming from the other side and the door slowly opens. As the door widens she is pleased to see Cali's face in front of her, glad that she will soon be in the company of friends.

'Rowan hey, come in my mom said that you would be coming over after your shift'

'Thanks Cali. I'm glad your home, I need a distraction from this night' she answers as she follows Cali inside and closes the door behind her 'Hi Papa Rico. What are you guys watching?'

'What are you looking at?' Papa Rico asks Cali as Rowan stands behind Cali and Papa Rico.

'Nothing. Just, you know, stuff. Are you okay?'

'Yeah. I'm fine'

'You sure?'

'You don't need to keep asking me'

'She's just worried about you Rico' Rowan speaks up.

'I know but she doesn't need to keep asking'

'My name is Donald Talbot. Our regime was voted into office nine years ago. And the first order of business was to deal with the epidemic of crime that was plaguing this nation. The answer was the Purge

' _We've lost our souls to attain this peace. We no longer worship at the altar of Christ, Muhammad, Yahweh. We worship at the altar of Smith & Wesson. We, the people, know not what we do_'

'Horseshit. Where'd you find this lunatic?' Rico spoke up once again.

'I saw his protest posters all around the neighborhood. He lives here, Papa. He's just like us. Now, shush. Please listen. He's not a lunatic'

' _The Purge is not about containing crime to one night, and cleansing our souls by releasing aggression. It's about one thing. Money. Who dies tonight? The poor. We can't afford to protect ourselves'_

'He's as full of shit as they are'

'No, he's right. Come on. They're keeping the population down by getting rid of people like us to save money' Rowan added 'It's the same everywhere'

'Talk is cheap Rowan'

'Mmm-hmm'

'He may be right, but he won't do anything about it'

'You may be right but I hold hope that it may change one day'

Rowan moved away from the pair and sat down on the sofa; pulling out a book from her book she began to read in hope to distract her troubled mind. She hoped that this Purge night would be scraped and save innocent lives, the only ones whom seemed to outlive this night were the rich people. While people like Rowan were being wiped in great numbers, to rich the country a few bucks; it made her sick. Money over lives.

Rowan had no idea how long she had been sitting there, trying to read her book when she was pulled away from her thoughts by Rico.

'Where is that daughter of mine?'

'She stayed to do an extra shift, one of the girls called in sick this morning. Eva will be back before you know it' Rowan answered knowing that Eva was in fact trying to talk to Mrs Crawley and had told Rowan not to say anything to Papa Rico about it. They needed extra money for his medicine which he hated seeing his daughter pay for as he claimed it wasn't doing anything for him.

'She better be back before this damn night starts'

'Hey, Daddy' Eva called as she walks into the apartment.

'Don't "hey, Daddy" me. Where have you been? We're less than two hours until commencement, and you're out gallivanting'

'Gallivanting? I was picking up your medicine' she answered feeling angry that she was being questioned by her father; feeling as if she were a teenager being late back home.

'Even worse. A waste of time and money. Christ, Eva, I told you not to get this stuff'

'I'm tired of listening to this every day'she cried out as she took off her purse and jacket.

'It does nothing... I'm not taking it!'

'You're taking your medicine' she warned him, all the while Rowan remained on the sofa watching the argument between father and daughter. It reminded her of when she would bicker with her mother with something so trivial.

'I'm not taking it! No, I'm not!'

'Yes, you are!'

'I'm not taking it. You're taking it back'

'Oh, my God, really? Can we stop? Look, Papa, maybe it doesn't do anything, but can you just take it? For me? Okay' Cali interrupted as she looked annoyed with her mother and grandpa.

'Okay'

'We'll lockdown and then we'll eat after commencement. Rowan did you anything to eat?' Eva asks as she looks over at Rowan.

'No I haven't'

'I will make an extra plate'

'Thanks Eva you're the best' Rowan added as she went back to reading her book, feeling her eyes becoming heavy.

'Count me out. I'm gonna take a long nap, and don't bother me. I'm gonna try to sleep through this godforsaken holiday. Look, I'm sorry I'm so grumpy, girls. I hate this night. Please, forgive me' she heard Rico butt in. 'Make sure you lockdown everything. I'll take care of my room. I love you both. Very much'

She looks up from her book for a moment and watches as Rico hugs his daughter and grand-daughter before walking out of the kitchen to his room, closing the door behind him.

'That was weird. It must be the night' Cali tells her as she looks at her mother, trying to find out what was going on.

'Yeah, I'm gonna take a quick shower, and then we'll lockdown'

'Okay, wait. How did things go with Mrs. Crawley? Did you get the raise?' Cali asks, Eva does not answer her and shakes her head 'God, what a bitch. Well, did you at least make a good argument? Did you say everything that we practiced?'

'I'm sorry, baby. Yeah'

'I'm sorry too Eva' Rowan adds 'She can be a bitch'

'Agreed'

'Would it be okay with you both if I took a nap on the couch?' Rowan asks Eva before placing her book into her bag.

'Yeah of course, I'll wake you up when dinner is ready'

'Thanks'

Rowan lies down onto the sofa turning her back to Eva and Cali as she lies on her side; she closes her eyes wishing that she could sleep through this night. Slowly Rowan drifts off to sleep thinking of her mother, praying that she is safe and no harms her.


	5. Chapter 5

_**News 13 wishes anyone who is not participating in this year's Purge a safe evening and for those releasing the beast, a successful cleanse. Good luck.**_

'Should I get Papa' Cali speaks up as they focus on the TV in front of them.

'He hates this. Let him sleep'

' _ **This is not a test. This is your Emergency Broadcast System announcing the commencement of The Annual Purge sanctioned by the US Government. Weapons of Class 4 and lower have been authorized for use during the Purge. All other weapons are restricted. Government officials of ranking 10 have been granted immunity... Commencing at the siren, any and all crime, including murder, will be legal for 12 continuous hours. Police, fire and emergency medical services will be unavailable until tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. when the Purge concludes. Blessed be our New Founding Fathers, and America, a nation reborn'**_

Rowan had a restless sleep, she had tried her hardest to rest but there was something in the air that was forcing her to stay awake. She had put it down to the purge, worrying if she was going to see it through till tomorrow and if she would see her mom again. The siren warning the start of the purge only put Rowan closer to the edge as she lay quietly thinking to herself.

Having enough, Rowan rolls over and lies on her back as she tries to focus on her book, the smell of Eva's cooking making her stomach growl. She had been so busy packing that she forgot to eat something before she returns home to her apartment. Moving her head she looks towards the kitchenette watching Eva and Cali, talking amongst themselves as her mother stood before the cooker.

'Rowan, dinner is ready' Eva calls.

Rowan quickly sits up making her feel dizzy for a moment, as she collects herself she places her bag atop her belongings and walks over to the dinner table, making herself comfortable she watches Eva as shares out their supper.

'I'm gonna go get Papa for dinner'

'He said don't bother him' Eva warns her daughter.

'Yeah. I just wanna see if he's awake'

Eva shakes her head as she finishes placing the food on the plates.

'Mom!'

'What? What is it?'

Eva stops what she is doing and walks into her father's room, Rowan steps out of her chair and follows her worried that something bad had happened to him.

'Mom, come here! What's wrong? Where's Papa?'

As Rowan walks into the room she stands idly in the doorway as she watches Cali hand a small piece of paper to Eva.

'What's going on?' Rowan asks 'Where's you grandpa?'

'Look at this'

Rowan walks over to Eva and reads the letter he has left behind; Rowan is shocked by what she reads.

 _ **"Dearest Eva and Cali,**_

 _ **My greatest heartache is seeing the two girls I love so much struggling in this world.**_

 _ **I am dying, you know this.**_

 _ **I'll be a martyr for a wealthy family tonight**_

 _ **They paid me for this service.**_

 _ **$100,000 will be transferred into your accounts, my darlings.**_

 _ **Take their money**_

 _ **Survive the night and live a safe life.**_

 _ **love you.**_

 _ **Blessed be America, a nation reborn''**_

'I don't understand'

'How can he do that to you guys?' Rowan asks.

'It's how the wealthy Purge, baby. They buy poor and sick people, and they take them in their homes and they kill them where they're safe'

'Oh, my God. It's just like Carmelo said. Why would Papa do that? I don't understand why he would do that. Okay, he must have left something that could tell us where he went'

'Cali. Cali….'

'Like his phone. We should call his phone. We could stop him'

'Cali...' Rowan speaks up trying to stop her but Cali was not listening.

'- Okay, that's fine. We can do something about this. I don't know what, - but we can still do something about it'

'Cali, stop. Just stop. He's gone. He's gone'

Just then Rowan hears a loud engine coming from outside the building, leaving the room she heads into Evas room and peers from behind the screen. Outside stood a large truck as men began to pour from inside and towards their building, she began to feel panicked that something bad was about to go down. Rushing away from the window, Rowan pulls her pistol from inside her bag and tucks it into the back of her pants before joining Eva and Cali who were now looking outside.

'What is this? Who are they?'

'It looks like an army' Rowan replies as Cali and Rowan look at one another, Rowan can see the worry through her eyes. Worried about herself, her grandfather or her mother, Rowan did not know. But there was one thing she did know, that had to get the fuck out of there before some serious shit went down.

'I have no idea' Eva added walking away from the window and into the middle of the room, Rowan could see that Eva was not planned for this, neither of them were but could see that she too was thinking of a way out.

'- It's them'

'No, it can't be them, They haven't even come inside yet. That was right in the other room' Rowan told her as she walks towards the front door, trying to hear anything.

'Eva! I'm here to protect you. Protect you from me'

'Mom, where's the gun?'

'It's in the kitchen'

'Don't worry I have mine' Rowan whispered as she pulls out her pistol and holds it out in front of her, trying to be as strong as she could be for her friends but her hands were shaking.

'Where you hiding, bitch? Don't you know that you gotta be polite to people in this society? Because if not, this is what happens tonight!'

'Diego, don't come back here. We have guns and we will shoot you'

'Cali? That you? Oh, I got a little bonus. Got a little package deal. But I'll tell you what, tonight I'm gonna release the beast, on the both of you fucking lame bitches! It's my right, granted to me by the New Found Fathers!' His footsteps coming closer towards them, standing in front of her friends to protect them Rowan holds her gun in front of her. She could hear his heavy breathing coming towards them, she swears to herself that she can even smell his sweaty odour.

'If he touches you, I will shoot him' Rowan promises her friends.

'Rowan he will kill you' Eva warns her.

'You thought your little weak-ass protection was gonna keep me out or what, huh? Let me tell you something. Not with the barricade buster. Saved up a lot of pennies for this bitch, let me tell you'

'Stay back Diego, I will shoot you'

Diego walks towards her, closer than she would like. Before she knows he throws a punch at her, punching her hard in the Jaw enough to break it. Rowan collapses to the ground as the gun falls from her grasp and scraps along the floor out of her reach. She groans as she rests her forehead against the ground, she swears that she can see stars.

'Rowan!' Eva screams.

Rowan struggles to get herself from the floor; the pain was something she had never felt before. Never in her life had she ever been struck by anyone in her life.

' _Mother fucker'_ Rowan thinks to herself, trying to forget about the pain and help her friends, but his blow had made her dizzy and she found it hard to get back up.

'Diego, don't you hear those people in our building?'

'Now you shut the fuck up! The only thing you gotta be concerned with is who wants to go first. Who?'

'Leave my daughter alone' Eva speaks up as he walks towards forgetting about Rowan on the floor.

'Mom, don't'

'You can do what you want to me, Diego'

'I will. Trust me when I tell you, I will. You better prepare yourself tonight, 'cause tonight, it's motherfucking on, bitch. That's right, because it's Diego's night! It's my night to motherfucking Purge! My fucking time! Every fucking day, you pass me by in the hallway, like I ain't shit! Well, now, that shit fucking changes! I change shit! I beg you, please! - Oh, fucking beg, bitch!'

'- Please...'

'You fucking beg! Beg!'

'Please! I'm saying please!'

'Beg, yeah'

'Don't touch my daughter, please. Please, leave her alone'

' - Let me hear you say please'

' - She's got nothing to do with it. Please'

'What's that? Huh? - Is it your father?'

'- I don't know'

'- Is that your father?'

' - Please, please'

'I like that. Come on, motherfucker! You want some, too? Come and get it! Where you at?'

Diego walks past Rowan as Eva and Cali rush to her side helping her get back up, as she stands on shaky feet they hear multiple shots as a body crashes to the ground finally silencing him once and for all. With the help on Cali and Eva she is dragged in to the closet hiding in safety, hoping that whoever killed him would give up and walk away, but after seeing that truck outside Rowan knew it was not going to be that easy.

'Are you okay?'

'I'll be fine Cali, we need to stay quiet. Those guys might find us'

Cali nods as she understands, knowing they all have to survive this night as they did not want to be another statistic. As they stood quietly in the dark, they tried hard to quiet their breathing; Rowan was scared out of her wits. She wished she was back at home with her mother, Rowan needed her, and she was vulnerable and left shaken by Diego. She hoped that this night was nothing but a dream and that she was actually still asleep on Eva's sofa but as the closet doors pulled open she was brought back to reality.

'Oh fuck!' Rowan yelled.


	6. Chapter 6

' _ **This is what he was looking for tonight. Let's bring these two downstairs'  
**_  
Rowan's heading was still spinning from where Diego had hit her, she wished she was the one who pulled the trigger and killed him first but the goons had got there first. She did not understand why these people were dressed as if they were going to war, carrying huge guns in their hands or on their backs. There was something serious going on in their building, it wasn't just their apartment that was being attacked, and they seemed to be breaking into all apartments in the building. Rowan could hear the fearful screams from her neighbours.

' _ **Big Daddy, we have two for your personal Purge. Bringing them down now'  
**_

She had to be dragged out of the apartment as she was fighting hard to get the person's hands off of her, Rowan feared for her life and her friends for what might be waiting for them on the street outside. The man, dressed it what she thought was combat uniform, kept a strong hold of her upper arms as he forced her to walk down the stairwell. As she looked back, she saw the same dressed people with chainsaws, buzz saws cutting into her neighbour's apartments. Wondering whether they would have the same fate as Diego and shot on the spot, or led to what she believed was a waiting firing line.

'Take your fucking hands off me, you jackass' she told the man behind her as he attempted to guide her outside of the building 'who are you huh? Why you hiding behind a mask you fucking coward? Tell me your name?'

The person behind the mask ignored her and continued to shove her along the hallway.

'Not going to talk to me you coward?'

'Shut up' the voice muttered from behind the mask, it was a deep voice; a man's voice.

'You're a fucking pig, do you enjoy this? Taking people from their homes and slaughtering them?'

Rowan must have touched a nerve as he pushes her harder, almost making her fall over but crashes in Eva's back making her stumble forward. They are finally outside and find more people dressing in tactical wear, carrying weapons in their hands, behind them stood a large truck with the door pulled open.

Together Rowan, Eva and Cali were forced onto their knees; Rowan scrapes her soft hands on the tarmac as she falls forward with the force of the push. The pretend soldiers behind them pointed their guns to the back of their heads ensuring that they did not escape; Cali had begun to struggle and Eva began to worry that her daughter would harmed.

'Get off me!' Cali yelled as the man behind her tried to hold her in place, but was beginning to struggle.

'Cali! No! No! Cali! Oh, God, no!'

'Let go! No! Get the fuck off me!'

'Please! Leave my daughter alone! Please, don't. Please, please, please'

'Get your fucking hands off them, let them go!' Y/n yelled as she looked up she notices a man coming closer to the back entrance of the truck, he looked scary but that was not the first thing she noticed; it was the huge machine gun that he was heading towards. Rowan tried hard to get away but she was held once more by her captor, she squirmed as much as could but he was too strong 'Let me go you asshat!'

Rowan hears gunfire coming from behind her and she sees the man in the back of the truck falling backwards, then the armed goons falling around her. _Out the frying pan into the fire_ comes to Rowan's mind as she is frozen into place, scared that she is next and killed by something far worse. She is pulled to her feet by a man she does not recognise, he is handsome she had to admit as she checks him out, feeling his warm hand under her cheek he moves her face to hide and checks out her face. The pain was subsiding on her cheek but it felt swollen and had been replaced by a dull ache.

'Hey you're okay, you're going to be fine' he tells her 'What's your name?'

'R…R…Rowan' she stutters as she wobbles on her feet for a moment.

'Did they do that to you? Your face?'

'No. It was Diego, they killed him'

'Okay let's get out of here, I have a car. Come on'

He takes her hand and pulls her away from the dead bodies surrounding them, his car waiting at an intersection not far from where he found them. Eva and Cali following closely behind them as they quickly walk to catch up, Rowan frightened of the events of the night holds tightly on the strangers hand as he leads them from danger.

As the reach his small black car he opens the back door to allow Cali and Eva to climb into the backseat, but when he opens the door he notices a couple he did not know already sitting there. He releases Rowan's hand and immediately grabs up his gun, pointing it at the young man and woman.

'Hey! Out of the car!'

'No, no, no! Please! Please, don't!' the young woman yells holding her hands up in surrender.

'Get out of the car, or I will shoot!'

'We're not Purging! We don't have any weapons! Please' the man who Rowan, assumes is her boyfriend butts in.

'I will shoot you!'

'Please don't shoot!'

'Move out of the car now!' the stranger warns for the second time, seeming more serious than the first, Rowan remains by his side as he points his gun at the pair. But they will not listen and remain in the backseat, too scared to come out.

'No, we're not armed!'

'Get out of the car!'

'We can't! They're after us!'

Rowan and Cali look up towards the truck and they notice the man that tried to kill him is getting up, he looks towards them with a menacing look intent on killing them all.

'Wait, wait, wait. We have to go! We have to go, please!' Rowan adds 'He's getting back up, come on let them stay!'

'We don't wanna hurt anybody! - Please, don't...'

'Shut up! Shut up! Hands up, and shut your mouth!'

'Please. Please. - Hands are up! Thank you, thank you'

'Get in, get in, get in!' he changes his mind and moves to the driver's side, Rowan takes shotgun with Eva squeezed on the seat beside her, Cali sits beside the couple in the back who are looking through the back window.

'Shane? - What? - They're coming. - We gotta go!'

'Over there, too! There's people over here, too! You gotta move, you gotta move! Please, go! Please'

'Shut up!'

'Drive!' Rowan tells him as she turns to look at him, their eyes meeting for a moment before he puts his foot on the accelerator.

'He's shooting at the motorcycles. They're turning! They're not following us. They're gone, they're gone. They're all gone'

'- Are you sure?'

'Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, there's no one there!'

'Are you okay, baby?' Eva asks Cali, unable to turn to look back at her daughter.

'Yeah, I'm fine. Are you? Rowan?'

'Yeah'

'I'll be okay Cali don't you worry about me, I'm a tough cookie, it will take more than a hit in the face to take me down' Rowan chuckles to herself.

'Sir, are you okay?' Cali asks him but does not answer her; instead he looks over to Rowan and Eva.

'You. What was that army doing in your building? - Why were they after you?'

'I don't know' Eva answers him; Rowan notices that she is still in shock after everything that has happened.

'Why were they after you?'

'Look she already told you. We fucking don't know who they were or why they were in our building. All we know is that that they tried to kill us with what I guess is a machine gun so back the fuck off okay. She's scared, we all are, even you' Rowan butted in trying to protect her friends.

'Why are you in the streets?'

'Our car just broke down. We're not out to Purge. We don't wanna hurt anybody'

'Are you armed?'

'No! No!'

'What about you? What were you doing outside?' Cali asks him and again he ignores the question and continues to drive as far away as he could.

Rowan wondered why a man like this would be outside on the streets purging when he had just saved all their lives. Someone who was out during the purge would have killed them all, she had seen the videos on the TV growing up and detested it ever since. Maybe it was a trap and he was taking them to their deaths, one thing was for sure Rowan wasn't so sure she could trust him quite yet. She hoped that getting into this man's car did not to their doom; there was one thing for certain she wanted to know why he saved them, why he didn't leave them to die. She wondered if the guy was a cop, a soldier as he was skilled with a gun, he managed to kill all those men without getting himself shot. Without him noticing she decided to check him out one final time, he was handsome, dark hair; she was unable to see what colour and dark eyes _. I need to get laid_ she thinks to herself before turning her eyes back onto the road.


	7. Chapter 7

'Whoever's in that truck was using armor piercing bullets. The car is dead'

Rowan couldn't believe it they had only managed to get a few blocks away from the mad men who stormed their building, she was scared that they would be found as they didn't get far.

'So, that's it. We're stuck outside on Purge Night. What are we gonna do?' the girl in the back asked, Rowan still did not know her name and guessed the man that was with her was her boyfriend 'Can we just hide in here? We have seven hours until morning'

'There's hunters out there with dogs. Sooner or later, they're gonna find you But you do what you want' the guy tells them as they still remain seated in the car.

'Way to be Debbie downer' Rowan tells him 'Hey what's your name?'

'Leo'

'So Leo what are we going to do'

' - You're on your own now'

'Are you fucking kidding me? After everything that has happened to us and to you, you want to leave us behind?!' she yells but he ignores her.

They quickly climb out of the car in hopes of stopping him from going anywhere, they needed him and they needed to stick together or they would all die. None of them knew what to do, Rowan could barely shoot her own gun but this guy had some sort of training. WIth his help they had some sort of hope to last the night.

' - Huh? - What? - Whoa! Whoa, what do you mean, we're on our own?' the guy also questions him.

' I should never have gotten involved. It's none of my business'

'You regret saving our lives? Thanks a lot' Rowan butts in again 'Fine leave us here and have our deaths on your conscience'

'You are not my responsibility'

'Okay, but you did, so it is your business now, all right? So, what are we all going to do?' Cali asks him as Rowan stands by her side as does her mother.

They watch as Leo reaches into a large duffel bag and pulls out some pistols. It was then that Rowan realised that her gun was missing, the gun her mother had gave her to protect herself. She hoped that it was back inside the apartment and not with one of those pricks who dragged her outside. Her Jaw was still causing her pain and had turned into a dull ache, she needed some pills to take away the pain or at least a big glass of whiskey.

'Take this. It's loaded. Take it. Take it'

He hands each one of them a gun, placing one in Rowan's hand also

' You're just giving us guns? Where are you going?' the unknown girl asks.

'I got somewhere to be before the sun comes up. I can't take you with me, you'll slow me down'

'You are leaving us here? So you can what Purge? Unbelievable' Rowan tells him before turning her back to him and slowly walking away.

'So, you're really just gonna leave us here?'

'Stay off the streets. Find somewhere to go' He warns them.

'Please, take us with you. We are not the kind of people who will survive tonight'

'Let him go, all right? He doesn't wanna help' the guy buts in, Rowan feels like saying the same thing not sure if they can change his mind.

' - Shane, shut up!'

' - Let him...'

'Why did you save us if you were just gonna leave us here to die? Please, help us!' Cali pleads a final time as she tries to follow him.

'Wait! I can get you a car. I have a friend in the city not far from here. I've worked with her for years. If you get us there safely, you can take her car and do what you have to do' Eva tells him as he stops in his tracks and turns back to face them.

'What? Eva?' Rowan turns around and walks over to her friend.

'Where does she live?'

'Third and Bryant'

'Tanya?' Rowan asks Eva, she knows that Tanya does not have a car and hopes that this does not come back to bite them in the ass.

' - Will she give me her car?'

' - Mmm-hmm'

'Are you sure?'

'Mmm-hmm'

'Make sure' he hands Eva a cell phone, they watch as Eva dials the number.

'Okay- Hey, it's Eva. Listen, we're in trouble'

Eva walks away trying to hear their friend on the other line, Rowan stays with Cali making sure that she was alright.

'That was a real dick move, you know? Walking away and then coming back'

'Agreed. So you were going to really leave us behind huh?' Rowan asks but again he fails to answer her question, they hear Eva still on the phone talking to Tanya.

'Thank you so much. Thank you. Okay, we'll be there really soon. And listen, I need your car as well. I'll explain when I get there, is that okay?'

Rowan watches as Leo looks up to the sky, as she tries to figure out what the hell he is looking at.

'What are you looking for?' she asks.

'Snipers'

'Are you joking?'

When he does not answer she realises he is not lying, she quickly presses her back along the wall, the others also following suit.

'Thank you so much' Eva ends the phone call and heads back their way 'Okay. Uh, she lives with her parents. They're happy to have us. If you can get us to her place safely, the car is yours'

'Can she help us, too?'

'Yeah'

'Thank you'

'She'll give me the car? All right, I'm gonna help you get to your friend's, but I want that car'

'She knows about the damn car, she said she will get you the car. so get off her back' Rowan warns him 'Or I will shove my foot up your ass, got it?'

'All right, you listen to what I say. You stay close. You slow me down, I cut you all loose, you understand?'

'Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Let's go' Rowan answers as she follows closely behind him.

They follow quietly behind Leo as he leads them away from the car and down the alleys of the city, Rowan had never been out in the city this late knowing how it can be dangerous on regular days. But this was so much worse, she could hear gunfire in this distance as well as screams of the victims. Rowan quietly curious why the lorry attacked their building in particular, she was grateful that Leo helped them in that moment but didn't understand why he was being such an ass about it. Leo stops at the entrance of they alley, the sound of the gunfire growing closer. He signals for the group to stop, Rowan's figure almost pressed against his as Cali holds onto the back of her shirt.

' **I'm doing God's work. He uses an earthquake, a virus. Population under control.** **The masses nourish and flourish. I am that virus tonight. I am a one-woman fucking plague and you're all in my path! I am the Holy Trinity. Oh, I am the Holy Trinity. I am the Holy Trinity. I am the Father Fucker, Son of a Bitch, and Holy Shit!** '

'When I move, you move, understand? Stay close, don't stray. Okay?'

'Yeah' she tells him, frozen to the spot as she hears a woman's voice over a speak in between firing off a gun.

' **And my MP-9 silver-tipped Auto Magnum.** **The right arm of the free world and the left hand of**

 **God!'**

'Go!'

They do not hesitate as the run across the street as they hide in the shadows.

 **'In flaming fire, I take the heads of them that know not God!'**

'We're gonna go down Fifth. Your friend's building is close. Go through the business district, stay away from the gangs downtown.'

They hear voices coming towards them, a man screaming for his life and engines following close behind. Rowan looks over and sees a man run into their sights as he struggles on his feet and collapses to the ground, she wants to go over to help the man as she starts to step from the wall Leo grasps her arm and pulls her back.

'What are you doing? he needs help'

'Wait a minute. Stay back, stay back'

'We can't trust leave him, he could be hurt' she whispers before Leo pushes her back against the wall his arm against her chest preventing her from moving,

Rowan looks back and sees a truck stop behind the man as well as guys on motorbikes.

'No! Please, don't! No! No!'

The man in masks grab the man from the ground as he tries hard to get away but fails, they carry him over.

'What are they doing? Where are they taking him?' The guy asks.

'It's not our business'

'Those are the guys that were after us' his girlfriend answers, Rowan can see the fear in her eyes, not doubt wondering if they were next.

'It's okay. It's not our problem. We're gonna have people in front of us, and we're gonna have people behind us. As long as we move, we'll be fine' Leo continues as he realises Rowan from the wall, she glares at him she steps forward. She looks back to the road where the man had been taken from, wondering why he would not help 'We're gonna cross Banks'

'No, no, no, that's the long way' the guy argues as Rowan quietly watches on, hoping that they can come to an agreement to get the hell out of there.

'It's gonna be much quicker if we go down here' the man argues again as he steps off the sidewalk and unfortunately into a trap that none of them had expected.


	8. Chapter 8

'What is this?'

'Get it off of me, I'm stuck!' The guy yells.

'It's a trap. It's a trap. We don't have time. Move away, I gotta shoot it' Leo tells him, Rowan rushes over trying to help him. There appears to be a metal wire trapped around his ankle, she tries her hardest to pull and yank at it but it won't budge.

'What?'

'What? You're gonna what?' the man voice raises as he continues to tug at it himself.

'I'm gonna shoot it. Move!' Leo warns him again, Rowan moves aside and stands on the the curb beside Cali.

'Okay'

Gunshots are fired at them from across the street, instinctively Rowan pushes Cali away from the shots so that she doesn't get hurt. The woman who had still not introduced herself cowers as she throws her hands over her head, Rowan watches as Leo shoots at whoever was firing at them from an upper floor window.

'Shoot it! Shoot the cable!' Leo yells, just as a man comes running around the corner about to kill him. Leo grabs his pistol and fires at the man, Rowan watches as the man collapses to the ground 'Shoot it!'

'Shane, hurry up!'

Finally after some struggle he uses a gun that Leo had gave him earlier, and shoots of the cable.

'Get up, get up! Move! Okay, let's go!'

More gunshots are heard as they aim for them, but falling to hit any of the group, Cali rushes over to her mom as Rowan quickly follows behind her.

 **'There are six hours remaining in this year's...  
The NFFA pigs are 're fucking wrong! Profit-making is not the essence of democracy. Wake up, people. Wake up! It's time to take a stand. Tonight, we write our message in blood. Their blood!'**

'It's so quiet here'

'The business district's always quiet on Purge Night, the banks move their money, so no one's ever down here. Let's go' Leo tells the young woman, Rowan follows behind him. Feeling scared at what was going to jump from the next dark alley or corner 'Stop'

Leo walks slowly ahead of them as he checks out what is ahead of him, she carefully watches his back making sure that he was okay. He seemed to be watching everyone else's back rather than his own.

'We don't even know your names. I'm Liz, and this is Shane'

Rowan looks behind her as she sees Eva and Cali talk to the young couple. Before paying attention to Leo who continues to walk along the street looking for predators.

'Hi. Eva. My daughter, Cali. And that is Rowan'

She chooses not to look behind her, hoping that Leo has found a way to get them off the street to their friends apartment building.

'It's nice to officially meet you on this shitty night' Shane comments quietly.

'Yeah'

'Is anyone else kind of curious about this guy?'

'I'm just glad that he's out here with us'

Hearing the group speaking about Leo she heads over towards them.

'Yeah, me, too'

'But we all got stuck out here, and he chose to be. That means he's Purging'

'Look Shane' Rowan speaks up 'That man saved our lives, he could have easily killed us. I don't care if he is purging, i'm just gratefully he saved our lives. So maybe you could cut him some slack okay'

'Hey. Let's go' Leo instructs them as Rowan walks away and makes her way towards him. As she moves away she hears the group behind her continuing to whisper.

'Thanks for that back there' Leo tells her as she stands by his side.

'What I said is true, I don't care if you were out here purging, it's none of my business. But you must have a reason for risking your life to be out here, I don't want to know. I am happy that you helped us and saved our lives'

Leo nods as he shows a smile smile before looking ahead, guiding their path along the way.

'Do you know why those men were at your building?'

'No I still haven't figured it out. It just seem strange the number of men that were there, the weapons they were carrying. Normal people don't carrying weapons like that, they looked expensive. There is something going on, I can feel it'

'Are you saying that we shouldn't trust him?' Rowan looks behind her as she hears Cali's voice behind her 'He saved our lives'

'All I'm saying is that he's out here armed to the teeth, on Purge Night, voluntarily. That means he's trying to do something nasty'

'I can hear you' Leo speaks up, causing Rowan to quietly chuckle as she looks back at Leo, their eyes meet for a moment. His intense gaze causes her to look away as she blushes, she is grateful it was dark so that he could not see.


	9. Chapter 9

Rowan was still in a state of shock after the turn of events that night, it was not what she thought she would be doing that night. Instead of a quiet night reading a book, in the safety of her friends apartment. She thought safety in numbers was a good plan, but instead Rowan was out on the streets on purge night. None of the group knowing who was hiding in the shadows and who was going to try to kill them again.

'You alright?' Leo asks as she walks alongside him, the others following closely behind them. Trying their hardest to be quiet, hoping not to draw attention to themselves, it was hard to remain calm under the circumstances.

The cool breeze of the night air was making her shiver, she was dragged outside in what she was wearing. Feeling pleased that she was still in her day clothes and sneakers, the last thing she needed was to be out in her PJ's.

'I'm cold'

'Hold this' he tells her, stopping in his tracks and places his gun in her hands, all the while she wondered what he was doing.

'Thanks for helping us tonight, I really mean it. I don't want to think what could have happened to Eva, Cali or myself'

'You really care about them don't you?'

'They're like family, we take care of each other and Eva was the first to talk to me when I moved into the building' she tells him 'But if anything happens to me, please keep them safe'

Leo was surprised that she cared more about the others than herself, she was was brave he had to give her that but he could still see the fear in her eyes.

'I'll try'

'That's all I need, can I ask you something?'

'Yeah sure, make it quick' he tells her sharply.

'Why are you out here? Are you purging?'

'I am, but not in the way you think okay. I don't get off on it like some these freaks out here tonight'

'I never said that you did, I just think it must be something really bad to for it to get to this point' she answers quietly trying her hardest not to offend him, after all he was helping them.

The others stopped and watched as he takes off his large bag placing it on the ground, Leo then removes his long black jacket and places it over her shoulders. Rowan was surprised by his gesture and almost felt guilty that she thought he had a stick up his ass. She can hear a few murmurs behind her, Leo held the jacket waiting patiently as she put her arms put her arms into the sleeves. The jacket was still warm from his body and Rowan could still smell his cologne, the arms of the jacket were so long that it covered her hands.

'What about you?' she asks, Leo picks up his bag as he places the strap across his body, the big resting against his hip. Rowan quickly returns his weapon as she waits for him to answer her, making her nervous all of a sudden.

'Don't worry about me, come on'

Leo begins to continue to walk the same path that they had started along, leaving Rowan behind him, he doesn't see the small smile on her face before she calls out to him.

'Leo!' He turns his head to look back at her 'Thank you'

Instead of replying back, he nods his head and looks away once again, walking along the sidewalk. Rowan waits for her friends to catch up before looking back to Leo who is checking that their path is clear for them to continue on their way. Rowan hoped that they would soon be at Tanya's place and off from the street, there was too many crazy people on the street and hear the screams of people in agony was unbearable. She wished there was something she could do to help, but she was one person and hated to hear that people were in pain. Her mom always thought she was a sensitive soul, that she could feel things more deeply than other people.

'Hey, are you doing okay?' Cali asks her mom, Rowan turns and walks over to them. Walking on Eva's otherside.

'Yeah. Yeah. It's gonna be fine'

'What did he say to you?' Cali asks her, the others turned and looked to Rowan. She felt uncomfortable that they were all looking at her.

'Nothing much, I just thanked him for saving our lives back at our building'

'He gave you his coat?' Cali questioned.

'I was cold and he gave it to me'

Rowan shrugged and looked away from Cali, instead she looks in front of her trying to avoid more of Cali's questions.

'I'm gonna go talk to him' 

'Cali' Eva warns her before she tries to walk away, she tries to grab Cali's arm but fails. 

'Cali leave him alone, please' Rowan warns but her pleas fall to deaf ears, she quickens up her pace and catches up with Leo.

'Leo right?'

'Shh'

'You're good with guns. I'm guessing you're either a cop or a criminal, huh?'

'And I'm guessing you're either a pain in my ass a pain in my ass'

Rowan could not help but smirk when he answered her, Cali was trying her hardest but it did not want to tell her anything. She had already tried to ask him some things but he appeared to be a tough nut to crack.

'You're out here to do it, aren't you? To Purge? That's what you have to do later on, right?  
What are you gonna do?'

'Stop. New rules. You shut up. All of you, shut up' he turned and looked at the all, however he avoided looking back at Rowan which surprised her, considering she had asked him some questions herself.

'I'm gonna stop talking because you're being an asshole, okay? Not because you told me to shut up'

Rowan could not stop rolling her eyes at Cali, at times Cali could be a great kid, she was smart but there was times when her attitude would annoy both Eva and herself. At times coming across as a brat, but to Rowan this was not the time to act like it, especially with the man that helped them and was trying to get them somewhere safe.

'Cali' Eva tries to warn her daughter, Cali ignores her and attempts to walk away before Leo stops her before she can go far.

'Hey, hey, hey'

'Okay'

Leo pulls her back and she walks backwards towards Eva, they hope that will be the end of it as they continue along the sidewalk but that was until they saw a body hanging high up outside of another bank. A sign hanging around his neck and splatters of blood around his neck, Rowan was sickened that someone could do that to another person, she could not believe what had become of her country.

'Oh, my God' Eva tries to shield Cali from it but it's too late, they walk away the memory already etched on their minds. Rowan follows behind them, then Leo tailing behind as Shane takes one last look.

'Here hangs stockbroker David Neustadter. He stole our pensions. "Now, he's gone. Maybe David deserved it.' Shane adds before Liz glares at him, walking away she leaves him there 'Just a bad joke'


	10. Chapter 10

The longer they were out in the open Rowan was beginning to get more nervous, she had hoped to be at Tanya's apartment sooner. She dreamed that being behind a locked door would make her feel safe and that she could remain there until the purge was over and done with. The others were getting quieter too, they were just as scared as she was but just like she was, they were wearing a mask as they tried to hold it together.

It was disgusting how people could kill someone without a second thought, Rowan doubted that they would even feel remorse for their actions, ending someone's life with their own hands and not thinking whether they have a family; kids even. What mad man came up with such a plan and believed that it was better than before, the only people who were affected by the purge were people like her. Yet the rich hid behind their expensive security systems, protected by hired goons in hope that no one would track them down and end their existence.

Her feet were getting tired, it had been a while since she had walked this far, although she was glad that she had Leo's coat as she was no longer cold. Rowan did however feel a little guilty that he may be cold but also intrigued as why he would do something like that for her. He hadn't done it for the others, in fact he had been quiet cold towards them. Leo was a mystery and something inside of her wanted to know more, she wasn't sure if it was because of what they had just been through or maybe there was in fact an attraction. Part of her thought it was because he was just a handsome man, it had been a while since she had been laid.

There streets were still quiet, it was eerie, Rowan didn't like it she nervously ran her fingers through her hair. At least before they somewhat knew when people were near but now she worried they could be hiding in the shadows or darkened alley.

'Why did Tanya have to live so far away?' Rowan thought to herself 'I should have never left my mother and never left town'

They slowly came around a street corner, Leo was still in front with his gun in his hands ready to fire if someone came at them again. As they came around, Rowan noticed the same truck that had come for her and her friends earlier that that night. There was smoke but she wasn't sure where it was coming from. On the ground lay the bodies of people dressed in the same garb that had grabbed Rowan outside to be slaughtered.

'What the fuck' Rowan spoke, Leo turned to face her for a moment looking at her puzzled expression. He turned back trying to make sense of what he was seeing, Rowan read his mind and had no idea what was going on.

'What the hell is that? Is that tear gas?' Shane asked next as the slowly walked towards the scene.

'Smoke canister. Stay close, stay close, stay close' Leo answered with a warning. Rowan moved closer to Leo, standing by his side as she pulled her gun out as she prepared to protect herself and the others.

Suddenly before she knew what was happening a man darts out of nowhere and straight for Rowan, almost knocking her to the ground but she manages to steady her feet for a moment. The sudden change of events makes her scream in surprise as she tries to steady the gun in her hands.

'Help me!' the man cries out as he grabs her upper arms. This time he causes her to fall backwards on the road as her back hits hard against the cold concrete. Rowan releases her hold of the gun as it too drops to the ground, Rowan is fighting to get the man off of her as his body collapses against hers. He is so heavy that he knocks the wind out of her lungs, Leo rushes over to help her and grasping on to the man's clothes; hoping to pull the man from top of her, Shane then rushes over to help her and Leo as the others stand back.

'Grab him! Get off her! Get off her!' Leo yells at Shane, together they push him to the ground as he lands on his back with a grunt. Leo holds his hand out for Rowan to grab as she scrambles from the ground, she lets go of his hand as she steadies her feet once again before reaching down to pick up her weapon.

'We were just doing our duty' the man spoke to them before dying right in front of them. Rowan did not care, she was sure he came from the group that had attacked them but they weren't exactly sure who was behind it.

'Are you she okay?' Leo asked her, Rowan was still in shock as she could feel the adrenaline course through her body. She said nothing at first, Leo moved closer to her worried that the jerk had hurt her. He straps his gun onto his shoulder and moves closer to her, her places his forefingers under her chin and lifts up her face; forcing their eyes to meet 'Hey you're okay, are you hurt?'

'N...n..nooo...he scared the shit out of me. That is the second time someone hads tried to kill me tonight'

Her breathing was heavy and her heart was racing in her chest, it felt as if it is about to burst through her skin. Leo's hand moved from her chin and to cup her cheek, there was something about him being so close that began to soothe her. Rowan slowly felt herself come down, she took a deep breath as she tried to steady her nerves.

'All right. You're okay, though. Just breathe, slow deep breath. That's right Just breathe' He tells her 'You good?'

'I will be, thanks'

'No problem. Come on, we have to move'

He pulls away from her, moving the gun back in his hands and looks down at the bloody body on the ground. Rowan takes a moment to gather herself as she joins the others, she never releases her hold of her gun as she holds it down by her side.

'Look at his uniform. This is one of the bastards who came into our building' Cali told them, Rowan knew she was right but what happened to them 'And that looks like their truck'

'All right, stay here. Stay here' Leo quietly told them, leaving them as he points his gun towards the open truck, Rowan didn't like him walking away she did not want to get hurt. He had saved their asses, Rowan owed him and the last thing she wanted was some crazed whack job to kill him. She ignored his command and followed right behind him, when he heard footsteps coming behind him, he was surprised to find Rowan there.

'I told you to stay back'

'I don't care, no one should be going off alone, we all stick together'

Leo let out a loud sigh, he could not believe that this girl would be so stupid 'Fine stay close, don't do anything stupid'

'Okay'

Raising her own gun up in front of her she and Leo make their way to the back of the truck, the door had been left wide open and was lit up like a Christmas tree'

'Truck 3, come in' a voice came over the radio.

As they get even closer Leo notices cartridges littering the ground of the truck, mounted on the back was a large machine gun, almost the same gun that had fired at them earlier. Rowan stands back as she watches Leo pick up a cartridge, inspecting it carefully before throwing it back.

'Come in, please'

Leo waves the others over; the coast was clear for now and there was no sign that anyone was left alive.

'Come on' Leo speaks quietly, not wishing to draw more attention to themselves.

'Come on, let's go, let's go. Just stay together. Let's go' She hears Shane tells them as they rush across the street and join them at the back of the truck.

Leo is the first to climb in the back of the truck, followed closely behind by Rowan, he takes her hand out as he pulls her inside.

'Thanks'

'Go check the cab, see if this thing's working' he tells her, she says nothing as does as he says.

Rowan walks further into the truck and notices computer screens showing live feeds of the city.

'Truck 3, please respond!'

Leo helps the others on the back of the truck, as she continues to watch the monitors.

'Stay alert. Stay alert. Go ahead. Go. Go, go, go' she hears Leo warn Cali and Eva climb on board.

'Hey guys you need to see this' Rowan calls out 'I don't know what this shit means but they are hooked up to the street cams'

'This is some high-tech shit' Cali tells Rowan as she stands by her side 'Yo, somebody spent a lot of money trying to do some heavy-duty Purging. Look at this. They're accessing the city's traffic cams'

'What do you think they're doing Cali?' Rowan asks, curious to know who had managed to get all this shit.

'Looking for targets, I guess'

'Traffic cams are controlled by the government. How did they get into these?' Liz asked as she moved in to join them 'I mean, who are these people?'

'Maybe you just answered your own question'

'Look at this. Seventh Street. Is that your building?' Leo asked Eva, Rowan turned around curious to know what they were looking at.

'Yeah, but why is it all red?' Eva asks.

'You're being targeted for something, along with all these other buildings. Here, here. All over the city'

Rowan watches as he points out to the streets on the monitor that were blinking red, he was right someone was targeting these areas.

'All around the projects. Maybe you were right, Cali'

'Look, I'm telling you, this is the New Founding Fathers. The government...' Cali stated to her mother, maybe she was right maybe it was them who wanted them dead. Why because to them they were nothing, they had to be destroyed, nothing more than a stain. Sure, they didn't have a lot of money, finding work was hard but it didn't mean they had to wiped out.

'The truck is fucked' Shane yelled as he made his way to the back of the truck.

'No good?'

'No, the engine's all blown out or something'

'Hey, look at this. That's Carmelo's mark, Mom. I told Papa he was the real deal. His group took these fuckers out'

They all walked to the edge of the truck and took a look at what she was talking about, on one of the walls outside was white letters of NFFA with a large red cross over it. If Cali was speaking the truth Rowan was glad that there was someone out there killing these fuckers before they hurt anyone else. Looking up the street Rowan saw headlights coming towards them, it looked like another truck heading right for them.

'Everybody got a weapon? Hey, grab this' Leo shoved a gun in Eva and Cali's hands, along with Liz and Shane. Rowan was pleased that they had something more to protect them 'Take the weapon. Go. Go!'

'Oh, shit, there's another one. Looks like an army. Come on' Shane warned them, he helped Liz, Cali and Eva down from the truck. Leo jumped down after, he held out his hands coaxing Rowan to come down but it was if she was frozen to the spot.

'Row, come on. We have to go, get down, let's go'

Rowan shakes her thoughts from her head and allows Leo to grasp on to her waist as he brings her down to the ground; landing down in front of him.

'You alright?' he asks.

'I'm scared'

'It's gonna be okay, come on'

Leo takes her hand and leads her away from the truck and down a dark alley, as they hope they hadn't been spotted.


	11. Chapter 11

Rowan ran as fast as her legs could carry her, the muscles of the back of her legs burned as she tried her hardest to keep up with Leo. He never once let go of her hand, he made sure that none of them were left behind. He wanted to get as far away from the truck as he could, he didn't need that sort of trouble to follow him, afterall this was not what he had planned that night.

They remained quiet, no one speaking a single word, they were drawing close to the end of the alley when they heard voices. Cheering voices, people clearly enjoying themselves during the purge. It disgusted Rowan to know that they were taking pleasure out of a night that ended lives, Leo stopped them before they went any further.. He releases his grip of Rowans hand as he signals to the group to be quiet, Rowan tucks herself into his back as Eva stands closely behind her. Rowan is finding a tough time catching her breath, it was some time she had to run like that and that was when she was back in high school. It wasn't the best time for her, she didn't seem to fit in anywhere and the bullies took pleasure in making her life hell. Too many times she had to run away from them or hide in the toilets to get away from them. She felt elated when she left high school and would never see them ever again.

Slowly Leo moves he head to peer around the corner to see what awaited them, he then looked ahead of them and it took Rowan a moment to realise what he was looking at. It was a subway, if they could only get by those who were in the path.

Behind them Liz shrieked as a large rat attempted to scramble up her leg; Liz quickly covers her mouth but it's too late as her foot makes contact with a small can on the ground, Rowan hopes that no one heard anything. One thought enters her head out of the frying pan and into the fire, describing their current situation. Everyone is looking at Liz, even Rowan can see in Liz's eyes that she is sorry.

'Take this' Leo quietly tells Rowan as he hands her his gun, she takes it without question as she waits for something bad to come around the corner. He raises his finger to his lips, shushing them, Rowan was almost too afraid to breathe. She presses her back into the cold brick wall as she too rests her head against it.

Leo takes a small step before a man comes around the corner towards them, it doesn't take Leo long to grab the man and put him in a headlock. Rowan wants to do something to help him but she can feel Eva pulling her back; preventing her from getting any closer. All that Rowan can do is watch as Leo continues to hold the man in a headlock, Leo holding on as tight as he can, his face turning redder as the man fights against him. But it isn't long until the man begins to lose consciousness and his body goes limp against Leo. His body is dropped to the ground slowly before Leo takes his gun back from Rowan, he looks around the corner once more making sure the man was not followed.

'Come on' he tells them, without waiting they follow him to the subway.

Rowan had to admit it felt safer walking along the tracks in the dark, then above in the city, Leo had again taken the lead and was walking ahead of them with a torch in his hand. He hadn't said much to anyone since the got into the subway, but he wasn't much of a talker.

'Hey Leo' Rowan calls to him as she finally catches up to him, walking by his side 'Are you okay? What happened back there...'

'It was to protect you, he would have killed you or the others'

'I appreciate that, have you had to do that before?'

'Never'

'I have never seen anyone killed until tonight' she tells him 'You think you get used to it, after seeing the purge on TV but when you're out here it feels so wrong'

'Hmm...'

'Do you have any family? Wife? Kids? I bet they are worried about you being out during the purge'

'I have no one'

'I'm sorry I shouldn't have asked. I talk too much when I'm nervous, I keep to myself otherwise. Eva and Cali are the only people I really talk to'

'You didn't know' he tells her 'We'll be at your friend's place soon, you'll be safe'

'I hope so but maybe you should rest before you leave, I mean you have been helping us out and you look exhausted'

'I can't I have somewhere to be'

'So, you keep saying? What do you have to do? Kill someone? It will change you if you kill someone'

'They deserve it'

'That's what they all say, the people who purge, surely there is a better way' she tells him.

'There isn't, believe I know'

They grow quiet once again, Rowan does not want to say to him next, talking to men was not something she was good at. Scared that she would say something stupid and not be able to take it back. Cali was soon by Rowan's side as they walked deeper into the tunnel, she knew the Cali was going to start asking questions and hoped that it didn't irritate him further.

'Hey. Why did you stop at our building? Why did you help us?' Cali asks, Rowan rolls her eyes and says nothing.

'Didn't we establish a no-talking rule?'

'People are getting killed all over the city. Why did you stop for us?'

'I saw you. You were putting up a hell of a fight. You reminded me of someone' he tells her, Rowan was curious to know who he was talking about but doubted he would tell them.

'Who? Look, Purging, no matter what the reason, is wrong. Killing doesn't help anything.  
It doesn't heal someone'

'Enough. Enough. Go back with your mommy. Go'

Leo stops as he looks at Cali, Rowan for a moment whether he is going to do something but doesn't, Eva pulls Cali away from Leo as he continues to walk but only to stop a few feet away.

'There's no air in here' Eva speaks up, Rowan walks over to her and places her palm onto Eva's back.

'Don't worry we'll be out here soon, we can't be far'

Looking up she watches in curiosity as Leo places down his gun and starts to undo his bulletproof vest and walks back towards cali, the vest in his hands.

'Come over here. Put this on'

'I don't need that'

'Put it on, I said'

'I said I don't need it' Cali fights him again, Rowan knows all too well how stubborn Cali can get as she was the same way towards Eva. But Cali was strong willed, Rowan had to give her that, however it had the tendancy of making her a pain in the ass.

'Put it on' Finally she does as she is told and allows Leo to place the vest over her head 'Put your arm through here. Now, hopefully, you won't need it. Let's move'

Rowan chuckles to herself, Cali hearing her laugh glares right back at her and flips her off making Rowan laugh once again but it is cut short when Leo warns her to be quiet. They carry on walking along the tracks, Rowan jumps when she hears a crash, Leo raises his gun and his flash light as he looks for a threat.

'What was that?' Liz asks.

Leo looks to the side, as he looks carefully there are dozens of people hiding alongside the tracks, they look just as afraid as they do.

'Shh...There's no threat. They're just trying to make it through the night. Keep moving' he turns back to the tracks; his eyes meet Rowans for a brief moment before walking away.

 _What was that all about_ Rowan thinks to herself _Great he's still pissed with me_ , she follows closely behind him as Cali and Eva talk amongst themselves.

'Hey, are you okay?'

'I just wanna get out of here' Eva tells her, and attempts to catch up with Rowan and Leo.

The sound of engines begins to echo into the tunnel Rowan and the others turn to face the noise, they see headlights coming towards them and voices yelling in the dark.

'Oh come on!' Rowan yells.

'Oh, shit!'

'Move!'

The group does as he says and make a run for their lives, she knows that she shouldn't look back but she does and finds men on what look like dune buggies. They have flame throwers attached To them and are coming for them, she wasn't quite sure if she was going to make out of this one.

They begin sprinting down the track, running for their lives, behind them was the innocent people who had hoped to be safe underground. But just like Rowan they were trying to get out of there, she breathing was hard as she tried to keep up with the others. She was so unfit and regretted not going to the gym or doing track at high school.

'Go! Come on! Run! Move!' Leo yelled.

Bullets were fired towards them as well as flames, looking back Rowan saw bodies collapsing to the ground and if she didn't hurry up, she knew she was going to one of them.

'Move!'

In front of her Rowan watches Eva trip over her feet and fall to the ground, she can see the terror of Eva's face as she attempts to get up to her feet. Cali already rushes over to her side trying to help encourage her mother to get back up, but it is as if Eva cannot hear her. Leo is not far behind as he too tries to get them to move or they were dead meat.

'Get up! Get up! Come on! Get up, get up, get up!' Leo warns them as he points the gun towards the shooters.

'Mom, we have to go right now!'

'Move it, move it! Move! Go, go! Up, up, up!' Leo grasps Eva's arm and wraps it around his neck and picks her up bridal style as if she weighs nothing, they rush off but it didn't seem fast enough.

'We're not gonna make it. Fuck it.'

'We have to stop them, use the guns' Rowan tells Shane 'We have to shoot them or we're going to die'

Shane nods and stands by Rowan and they raise up their guns, together they start firing towards the dune buggies.

'Shane! What are you doing?' Liz yells at him but he continues firing, she rushes over towards Rowan and Shane as the hide behind a concrete barrier.

'Get down!'

They all duck hiding from the bullets of their enemies, Liz almost gets shot as she rushes over towards them.

'What do we do?'

'Just shoot! Just shoot!' he warns her, they fire their weapons all hoping that they will prevent them from getting any closer. But as the dune buggy draws closer towards them firing its guns both Shane and Rowan are shot. Shane falls backwards as the bullet shoots through his shoulder, Rowan ducks as she presses her hand to her arm. The blood already seeping through her shirt and Leo's coat, she felt a burning sensation as the pain shot up her arm. She was determined that it was not going to put her down, getting back up she starts firing again.

'Shane! Oh, my God'

'I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine! Just keep shooting. Just keep shooting. Go! Go!'

Liz stands up close to Rowan as they start firing at the men, Shane struggles to get back to his feet but he keeps fighting through the pain and shoots at them. The buggy goes up in flames as they connect with the tank, soon the tunnel is filled with the screams of their pain. Noticing that no one else was coming for them Rowan moves her gun to her side, and uses her free hand to cover her bullet wound. Rowan slowly moves over to Liz and Shane, worried that he is seriously hurt, as it was her idea to fight back. She had had enough of being the victim, she would die fighting and make sure her friends stayed alive.

'You okay guys?'

'Shane, he was shot. Can you help me get him up?'

'Yeah sure'

Ignoring her own pain, Rowan wraps her good arm around his waist and slowly helps him get steady on his feet. They continue down the tracks hoping that the others did not leave them behind, Rowan knee that Eva wouldn't just leave her there to die. They reach a platform and find Eva, Cali and Leo waiting there for them,

'Help! He's been shot! I have no idea how bad'

As Rowan and Liz walk towards them, they are unable to prevent Shane from collapsing to the ground, Rowan grimaces and groans in pain as he pulls on the muscle of her shot arm. Leo quickly checks out Shane before getting up and looking at her arm.

'You okay?'

'I'll be fine, I think it just grazed me. Shane got it worse, we need to get him out of here before any more of those guys come looking for us'

'We're gonna be fine, okay' Liz hovers over Shane as he looks as if he might pass out. Leo leaves her side and moves back to Shane where he starts to pick him up off the ground.

'Call your friend. Tell her we're close. We're gonna get him up. Okay. Look at me. Look at me, Shane. Yeah?' Leo warns him, preparing for some discomfort as he got to his feet 'One, two, three. Get him up, Let's go!'

Eva pulls put her phone and dails Tanya's number all of them hoping that they can make it all they way without running into more trouble.

 _ **There are four hours and 30 minutes**_  
 _ **remaining in this year's Purge.**_

Running. They were running again, Rowan was getting tired of it, the only way she was able to keep on her feet was the Leo had wrapped his arms around her waist and making sure she didn't collapse on the way there.

'Go! Just don't worry! Go! Come on, come on! Keep moving!' Leo encourages them but Rowan is not sure how long she can keep going on like this, she is so tired and can feel her legs getting heavier.

'Go! Don't slow down! Keep moving! It's right up ahead. Come on! Cali! Slow down!' Eva calls as they draw close to the building 'Hey, look, that's her building! She said to meet around the back'


	12. Chapter 12

It didn't take them long to run down the alleyway to the back of the building, Leo held onto Rowan tightly as Liz struggled to keep Shane from falling to the ground. Rowan did not want him to let her go, she knew it was a matter of time when he would leave. She was scared that if he went back out there that he would die or that he would purge, destroying his life and someone else's in the process. Rowan knew that it was none of her business what he had planned to do, they never met before, she just hoped that he didn't make a huge mistake.

Eva was up front and moved towards the back door, Leo finally let go of Rowan as she rested against the wall. Her chested heaved up and down, running had finally taken its toll on her and could not wait to sit down.

'She said, "Meet us around the back". Tanya! Let us in! It's Eva and Cali!' Eva told them before banging on the metal door. They didn't have to wait long as the door pushed open, Rowan let out a sigh of relief when she saw Tanya's face.

'Holy shit! You guys look like hell. Come on, come on, hurry up. Get in here. Hurry up!'

'Thank you' Rowan tells her before kissing her cheek and walks inside.

'I don't like being out here. Come on'

They rode the elevator in silence, still in a state of shock that they were still alive and had made it to Tanya's place. As they walked into her apartment Rowan noticed that Tanya was not alone, she had always thought she had lived alone but it looked as if she in fact lived with her mother.

'Let me check out your arm' Leo quickly tells Rowan, she just wanted to sit down and close her eyes 'Do you have a first aid kit? I need some clean water too'

'Leo I'm fine'

'You were shot, you're not fine. Please just let me look at it'

Rowan huffed and finally relented 'What about Shane? He got it worse than me'

'I will take a look when I am finished with you. Take the jacket off and let me see'

'I need some help, Eva can you help me?'

'Yeah sure'

Rowan managed to free her good arm but once the sleeve came down on her other side she hissed in pain. The blood appeared to have stopped but when they removed her outer shirt her arm was completely covered in blood. They find a seat at the dining table, whilst Shane and Liz sit down on the sofa. Tanya brings over a first aid kit along with some water to clean the blood from her skin

'I think it's just a graze' Leo tells her as he takes a closer look, he was no expert but he had seen his fair share of bullet wounds. Rowan grinded her teeth together as he cleans the wound with some cool water, clearing away the wet and dried blood that accumulated on her arm. It stung like a son of a bitch, but she lived to tell the tale 'I think you'll live. Tomorrow you should get some stitches, I can wrap it up so that it doesn't open again'

'Thanks Leo I appreciate it. Really, I do'

'Don't mention it, I'll not forget you and Shane saving our asses back there. We'd all be dead if you hadn't stopped them'

'I was tired of being afraid, I didn't want to see my friends die and I didn't want to die'

'I wouldn't want to see you die either' Leo tells her quietly; his statement makes her blush causing Leo to smirk at her reaction before chuckling.

'Shut up'

Rowan begins laughing and it seems alien to her, after all they spent most of the night screaming and running for their lives.

'I would like to see you again, I mean after all this is done'

'Me?'

'Yeah you'

'I would like that' she tells him with a small smile.

He finished up her wound by adding butterfly stitches to her graze and wrapped her arm in a bandage. Rowan hoped that it would do until she could get to the hospital in the morning, she already knew it was going to be hell being seen by a nurse or a doctor and was already dreading it. Leo excused himself and made his way over to Shane, Liz watched in fascination as Leo began to fix him up.

'All right. Bullet went right through'

'I can't believe you guys went through all that stuff. It's just insane!' Tanya spoke up as she looks on.

'Get him to the hospital first thing after this is over' Leo tells Liz as he finishes placing the gauze onto Shane's shoulder.

'Yeah'

'You'll be okay. It's gonna hurt like a son of a bitch, but you're gonna be okay'

'Thanks. I can't thank you enough'

'That's what you get for being a hero' Leo replies, wiping the blood from his hands, Rowan watches on from the table as he stands up and looks over at Eva.

'I need the car'

'I know'

Rowan could not believe it, Leo was still planning to leave even after everything that they had been through he wanted to get back out there. She needed to talk to him, try and prevent him from going out and getting himself killed. He was exhausted, Rowan could see it in his eyes but knew it was going to take some convincing to change his mind.


	13. Chapter 13

'Come on, everybody. Eat, drink!' Tanyas mom called as she walked back into the room from the kitchen.

'Yes, I recommend drinking. It's the best way to get through the evening. And the food is delicious. My mother's a wonderful cook. My sister's a testament to that'

Rowan could not believe what she was hearing, how could Tanya be so harsh towards her sister, they were blood after all.

'What the hell does that mean?' he sister answered, Rowan could tell by the sister's expression that she was not amused. Rowan was pleased that she did not know Tanya so well, as she knew that she would not be able to hold her tongue for long.

'That she's a good cook!'

'You know, you didn't have to go this far. Just having us here was really enough' Eva told them as Leo walked away and towards Rowan at the table.

'You guys have had a terrible night. Get some food in your system, and we'll get through this together'

Leo began rummaging through his large black bag, he was getting ready to leave, Rowan was becoming increasing concerned that he would get hurt. There was another truck out there no doubt armed to the teeth, then there were the normal crazies who were hiding and waiting for their next victim.

'Do you really have to go back out there? I mean couldn't you just stop what you were planning to do?' Rowan quiet asks him, ignoring the others.

'I have to'

'Why? What did they do to you that was so bad? Please Leo. I want to understand why you want to take someone else's life'

Leo turns to face her then slowly walks over to her until he is standing before her, looking down at her.

'He killed my son'

Rowan felt like such a jackass, she shouldn't have push him and been so nosy 'Leo I am sorry, I shouldn't have asked'

'But you did, it is not going to change anything. I am going back out there tonight and I will make him pay for what he did'

'Leo it won't bring him back'

'What do you know? Huh? Have you ever had a child taken away from you?'

Rowan says nothing and instead looks at her hands in her lap, she felt embarrassed at speaking her mind. She knew next time to keep out of it, Rowan wanted to go back home, but the night was far from over. Standing up from the chair she moved away and made an excuse to get away from him.

'Where is your bathroom?' Rowan spoke up as she walked towards Tanya, she needed to breathe and to think. I was the only excuse she could use to get away from him.

'Just down the hall'

'Thanks'

Walking by Tanya and Eve, Rowan says nothing more and walks to the bathroom. Rowan locks the door behind her before perching herself on the edge of the bathtub. Taking deep breaths, she tried to calm her emotions, Rowan understood that she should not have pushed him and that she only had herself to blame for his outburst. However, he did not have to snap at her and be a total jackass, it wasn't her fault, Eva's or Cali's fault they were targeted. He was the one who stopped to help them and if he wanted to be back out there so be it. She sat there for some time until she finally emerged and made her way back to the dining table.

'I can't believe nobody's drinking with me' Tanya exclaimed as she waved a glass of wine her hand, looking over at Leo 'What about you, tough guy? Want a drink?'

'No, thanks'

Leo shoved a fully loaded magazine into his handgun, he looks back at Rowan who hadn't said a word she came back, he felt bad for snapping at her but he had wanted this night for so long. Now that he would not have their deaths on his conscience, he was free to leave. He hated seeing the pained look that spread across her features, he would do anything to see her smile; just once. 

'You're really going back out there?' Cali asked, Rowan was glad that Cali was thinking the exact thing that she was. Rowan hoped that Leo would see sense and stay with the rest of them, it wouldn't be long until the purge was over.

The handle of the apartment began to rattle, the tension began to suddenly raise once again, Rowan stood from her seat and reached for her gun.

'Relax! It's my father and my brother-in-law. He's the super. They were just checking  
the building. It's all good' Tanya warned them as she held out her hand in front of her, the door opened and in walked an older man with grey hair and a beard. Beside him a thinner looking man wearing camo clothes, he too had a beard but darker than the other.

'Everyone, please don't mind my husband's clothes. He's not Purging. He just thought it was a crazy idea to go out and see what's happening tonight' Rowan later learned that her name was Lorraine, she also began to think that there was something more going on between Tanya and Lorraine and felt it wouldn't be long when they learned why.

'Yeah, I chickened out. No way I was going out there. I don't know what the hell I was thinking' the man nervously chuckled as he sat down in an arm chair, removing his camp.

'Thank God he came to his senses. I mean, look at him. He would've been the laughing stock  
of the neighborhood'

'That's not very nice, Lorraine' Tanya interrupted, Rowan could not believe that this family was kind of fucked up and seemed to take pleasure in taking someone down a peg. Tanya enjoyed making fun out of her sister and now Lorraine was taking a shot at her own husband.

'I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to be mean. It's not mean, it's just true'

Lorraine shrugs her shoulders before she says anything more to make the atmosphere even more unbearable and moves over to where Rowan was sitting.

'How's everything, Daddy?' Tanya now hovers alongside her father who had also taken a seat.

'It's all good, baby. The building's locked down and good. It's quiet. I see you had a rough go of it, my friend' the man asks as he looks over to Shane.

'Oh, yeah'

'Relax. Make yourself at home. You're safe here'


	14. Chapter 14

***Trigger warning mention of abuse***

Sat at the dining table Rowan tried hard not to scratch at her wound, it had begun to itch and was beginning to drive her insane. Already Leo glared at her for messing with her bandage, after his outburst she had a few chosen words she would like to say to him but he did patch her up when they got inside the apartment.

'What?' she asks him as she catches him staring at her once again.

'You'll open the wound again'

'I don't care, it's driving me crazy'

'Look about before...' he began but was cut off by Rowan.

'It's fine'

'No, it isn't I shouldn't have snapped at you, it's just been a long fucking night'

'I have been asking too many questions, and you're right it's been a long night. Look you'll be out of here soon no doubt and I will be out of your way. I'm not going to stop you, if it makes you feel better to purge then have at it but believe me when I say it won't make you feel any better' Rowan warns him as she stops scratching at her arm.

'And how would you know? Have you purged?'

'I have'

'What?' Leo asks flabbergasted, Rowan did not seem the type of girl to kill someone 'You? But you seem against the purge'

'I am. Something happened to me, a long time ago, I never told anyone this before. My mom thinks I stayed with a friend but I was out looking for them'

'Who were you looking for?'

'The man who raped me'

Anger spread through his body, he could not believe why some sicko would do something like that to her.

'They hurt you'

'Yes. Please don't tell anyone, I don't want them to think differently about me'

Leo squats down in front of her and takes her hands into his as he looks up into her eyes. He can see in her eyes what happens still affects her and causes her a lot of guilt.

'I promise. Who was he? What happened?'

'He was my mom's boyfriend at the time, I was only fourteen. He waited until my mom was at work when he attacked me, it had happened for two years. My mom knew nothing of what was going on, I was too scared to say anything and I was so scared' Rowan began 'When he and my mom broke up, I was relieved because I would never see him again. No one saw him after that, he left town and I was able to get on with my life. That was until I saw him in town, he saw me and acted as if nothing happened'

Tears slowly fall down her cheeks but Rowan quickly brushes them away, she hates crying in front of people.

'What did you do?'

'I found out that he was working in an elementary school, as a janitor. No one had any idea what he was really like, what he had done to me and I was so scared that he was going to hurt another girl. So, on purge night I took one of my mom's guns and I went to his apartment. I managed to convince him to let me in, I pointed my gun at him and asked him; why he did do what he did. Do you want to know what he told me?'

'What did he say?'

'Why not' Rowan answered him 'I snapped. I shot him'

'Rowan, he deserved it'

'Did he? He should have gone to prison for what he did, but I was so angry. I regret it, I shouldn't have been a coward. I should have told someone, my mom, the police but I didn't'

'Hey, listen to me. He had it coming, if it wasn't you then no doubt it would have been someone else' he tells her 'I know that you think I am going to regret what I am about to do, but we went through the right channels and he did not get punished'

'You're right, I cannot make that decision for you. Only you can'

'I know. Never regret what you did Rowan, that man could have hurt other girls just like you or hurt others'

At the time she killed that man she was in shock, she shot him right in the heart and watched him die on the cold wooden floor. She stayed until the alarm sounded the next morning, letting her know it was safe to go outside once again. That night sometimes haunted her dreams, she felt relieved at first that he was never coming back but at the same time felt guilty taking someone's life and that it had been so easy. From that night on she swore that she would never hurt another person again, that the purge was nothing but a big lie. That was until she was dragged out Eva's apartment, then try to kill her and her friends.

'I feel like such a hypocrite, judging people for purging when I have done it myself. I hate the purge I wish this night never existed'

'Hey I wouldn't have met you, or your friends' Rowan smiles at him softly as he squeezes her hands gently 'I will be okay, I will come back'

'You better'


	15. Chapter 15

Leo reassured her that she had nothing to worry about, that he did not judge her for what happened in her past and that night she got revenge for what she went through. He then promised not to speak a word to Eva and Cali about what they had spoken about, moving away from Rowan he continued to sort through the various weapons in his duffel bag. Rowan took a glass of wine that had been abandoned on the table, then in one large gulp empties the glass down her throat.

'We are anti-Purge in this household'

Rowan turns her attentions back to Tanya and her father, Tanya stood by her father as he sat in an armchair.

'Speak for yourself, Daddy'

'What does that mean?' Tanya's mother asks as she looks at her daughter.

'I could think of a couple situations where purging could be the answer'

'Like when?'

'I'm not telling, I'm just saying, don't piss me off, bitch' Rowan rolls her eyes as Tanya bickers with her sister, sometimes Rowan was grateful she was an only child.

Her mother clearly embarrassed apologises for her behaviour 'Uh, please excuse my daughter'

'No, it's fine'

'And, please, if there's anything else you need, just ask'

'I could use a clean shirt' Leo interrupts, Rowan looks down at her own shirt and realises its covered in her blood. She pulls it away from her skin and grimaces, she needed to get the clothing off of her body.

'Down the hall, second door on the left. Top drawer of the bureau, what's mine is yours'

'I'll come with you' Rowan spoke up as she stood up from the chair 'I need to get out of this'

Rowan slowly followed Leo out of the living room and down the hallway, Leo enters the bedroom before her as he places his handgun on top of the dresser. Without hesitating Leo begins to remove his shirt, Rowan stops in her tracks as she admires his form. Even though his back is to her she can tell that he is toned and has some muscle. Rowan blushes for a moment as hundreds thoughts run through her mind, wondering what he looks like with all of his clothes off but it wasn't the right time. It takes a short time for Rowan to shake the thoughts from her mind, she finally finds herself able to move towards him. Leo pulls open the top draw and pulls out a white shirt for himself and another for Rowan.

'Here' he tells her as he places the shirt in her hand.

'Thanks'

Rowan turns her back to him and walks over to the bed, placing the clean shirt upon it she attempts to remove her bloodied shirt; however, her arm was preventing her from doing so. As she bent her arm a shooting pain caused her to cry.

'Holy fuck' she called out through gritted teeth.

'Need help?'

Rowan turns to face him as has her shirt half up her torso revealing her stomach and no doubt her bra. Leo chuckles as he finds it hard to keep a straight face, he shakes his head as he walks towards her.

'Hey this is not funny'

'I think it is, let me help'

'Fine'

Leo slowly pulls up the hem of her shirt and pulls it up over her head, then finally down her arms without a struggle. He made it look too easy, he drops the shirt down on the floor by her feet and stands a little closer to her body. Rowan could feel her heart beat faster as he moved closer towards her, his hand moves against her warm skin along her stomach as his calloused hands tickle her. Goosebumps erupt over her body when Leo's hand continues to move until it rests against her hip, Rowan feels nervous as she has never felt so exposed in a long time. Feeling insecure of her body she wishes she could cover up, she had never been thin but always curvaceous. Those thoughts soon disappeared when Leo's lips were pressed against hers, she was frozen to the spot unsure what her next move should be. Her instincts soon kick in as her lips move against his, holds tightly against his shirt forcing his body to press against hers. Their lips move in perfect rhythm, normally Rowan would never kiss a man so quick but under the circumstances she did not care.

Unable to catch her breathe Rowan is the first to pull away, she smiles back at him before shyly looking away from his gaze. Leo places his finger under her chin as he forces her to look at him, he leans forward and presses his soft lips against her forehead before pulling away. Leo picks up her clean shirt and helps her dress, without her even asking.

'You sure you're going to okay going back on there?' she asks him as she helps him pull down the hem of the shirt.

'I'll be fine. Just stay inside and don't go anywhere'

'I wasn't planning to, but promise me you will stay alive out there'

'You have my word' he swears as he cups her cheek and kisses her once again in the lips, there was something between them that Rowan could not deny. A sort of magnetism that drew her in and she didn't want to stop it. The kiss was short but sweet, Leo could sense that she was nervous around him and didn't blame her. She quickly excused herself and walked back into the living room, before sitting on the arm of the chair with Cali. Cali looking at Rowan but said nothing but instead silently judged her.

'What?'

'Nothing, just you took your time' Cali pointed out, Rowan could feel her being pressed but wasn't going to tell Cali a thing.

'So, we just talked, what's the big deal?'

'Really?'

'Jesus Cali what's with the third degree?' Rowan finally snapped, she could not believe that Cali would not leave well enough alone.

'Rowan, we don't know him, you shouldn't trust him so much. I don't want you to get hurt'

'I'll be fine Cali, I'm a big girl. I know he isn't your favourite person right now, but he got us here. He risked his own life to save our lives, you just have to give him a chance'

'I'll try but if he hurts you or my mom, I'll kill him'

Rowan places her hand onto Cali's shoulder, hoping to reassure her that she would be fine, that they were safe.

 **'This is News 10 reporting on a lively Purge Night across the country. We have riots in East Los Angeles, as well as record participation in Pittsburgh...'**

Before Rowan could catch what was said on the TV it was cut to an abrupt end by Tanya, whom had way too much to drink and was beginning to embarrass herself in front of everyone.

'All right, people, let's change the atmosphere up in here. No more Purge news. No more nothing depressing. Let's put on some music, and let's just liven it up a little bit, right? Come on, you want to dance?'

Leo walked back into the room and watches as he walks into the kitchen and begin to talk to Eva, she forgets about Tanya attempting to get the attentions of her sister's husband. Something more was going on between them, Rowan was not sure if the others could see it but Tanya was trying a little too hard.

'What? You don't wanna do it? What? Lorraine, do you care if we dance? She doesn't even care.

She's not even paying attention. Now he's... Look at him. He's asleep'

Looking back to the kitchen Rowan sees that Leo and Eva are deep in conversation, that he is trying to get a car to get back to what he was initially planning to do that night. Something was off, Rowan could sense it and decided to go and see what was going on.

'Cali I'm going to check on your mom, I'll be right back'

'Okay'

Getting back to her feet she quickly walks into the kitchen, catching the end of their conversation.

'There is no car'

Oh fuck Rowan thought to herself This is not good.

'What? Did you know about this?' he asks as he turns to face Rowan, his face tense with anger and frustration.

'No. I work with Tanya but were not friends, Eva is closer with her than I am. Is it true?'

Both Rowan and Leo look back at Eva, Leo was pissed and he was about to explode at Eva but Rowan knew she did it to protect her daughter and herself. She doubted that Leo would care about that, he had plans that night and they ruined it. The purge was about to come to an end and may miss his chance to get the revenge that he desired so badly.

'I'm sorry, they don't have a car. But we needed you'

'And I needed the car'

'I did what I had to. I did it for my daughter'

'I was doing this for my son. And I trusted you. You have no idea what you might have taken away from me tonight' he tells her as he storms out of the kitchen.

'Eva why did you do that?'

'I'm sorry Rowan but I had to, we were going to die out there. If I didn't do something Cali would be dead out there. You would be too' Eva answers her as she steps backwards, her back pressing against the kitchen wall.

'Eva we owed him, he save our lives back there'

'I know. I know'

'Jesus Eva'

As Rowan turned to walk back into the living room, hoping to say goodbye to Leo, she watched as Lorraine fired a gun at her sister. Bullets pierced her Tanya's body before she collapsed to the ground, their mother attempted to wrestle to gun from her hands as more bullets fired into the wall and ceiling. Rowan hides behind the wall in the kitchen, hoping not to get shot at again for the second time it was the last thing that she needed.

'No! Lorraine! What are you doing?!'

Their mother was briefly silenced as Lorraine elbowed her own mother in the face, she too collapses to the ground as her father crawls over to his fallen child.

'Tanya! Tanya!'

It is too late as he tries to awaken her, she is already dead as she lays still on the ground as blood begins to escape from her body.

'Lorraine! What've you done? What are you doing, Lorraine?Jesus Christ, she's dead.

You killed your sister! She's your sister! Lorraine! What are you doing?'

'You know what I'm doing. I read all your emails, you cheating motherfuckers. You both deserve to die!'

Lorraine fires more shots towards her husband, meanwhile Rowan ducks and begins to move towards her friends. Rowan hides behind an arm chair as she looks over at Cali and Leo, to Rowan this night seemed to have gone from bad to worse and seemed too good to be true.

'Okay, Lorraine! Lorraine, stop!'

'No!'

'Get back, get back. Back up, back up! I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry'

Rowan peers over the arm chair and watches on helplessly as Roddy, Lorraine's husband, grabs Liz from her spot on the floor and places a handgun to her head.

'What the fuck are you doing?!' Liz screams as she tries her hardest to fight against him.

'Lorraine. If you shoot me, you shoot this woman'

'Just let her go!'

Shane is as helpless as Rowan is, neither of them have a gun within in reach and can do nothing to stop the asshole.

'You don't wanna do that! Lorraine, I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything. I didn't mean it. She hasn't

done anything to you. Okay? So, cut this out!'

Roddy attempts to back away but the huge TV is preventing him from getting away, he thought he had a plan but it did not appear to be working out for him so far. Rowan would have been tempted to shoot him herself, just to get him to stop and shut the fuck up.

'Fuck you! This is my right, granted to me by my government...'

Leo soon stops Roddy and fires a bullet into the man's leg forcing him to release Liz and she collapses into Shane.

'Leave him alone! He's mine!'

Lorraine has a new target and begins firing at Leo, he ducks behind the wall for a moment before firing back at her.

'Door, now. Go. Door! Go!' Leo does not stop firing his gun until Shane and Liz rush by him and out of the apartment, he grabs Rowans good arm and yanks her from her hiding place and leads her own to safety 'Door, door, door! Now! Move, move, move! Go, go


	16. Chapter 16

Rowan somewhat knew that finally making it to Tanya's apartment was too good to be true, almost every aspect of their night had gone from bad to worse. They had nowhere else to go, it was too dangerous to go back upstairs and it was too much of a risk to head outside. The others ran ahead of her as they made it down the staircase, Leo was not far behind his gun firmly gripped in his hand. When they finally reached the bottom, Rowan held tightly on to the bannister as she tried to catch her breath.

'I can't believe Tanya's dead' Eva first to speak up, all of them shaken by what they had seen and scared that nowhere appeared to be safe.

'Are you okay?' Leo quietly asked her as he walked by her, he looked her over before their eyes connected.

'I'm okay, don't worry about me'

Leo continued to walk down the remaining stairs, walking passed Liz and Shane, he was clearly pissed as yet again his plans had gone to shit.

'What do we do now? Where do we go?' Liz dares to ask as Leo begins to pace along the hallway, it appeared that he had to take care of the group again. Their lives were in his hands and he did not like it, time was running out for the purge and he needed to get out of there. Leo yells as he bangs his balled-up fist against a wall, Rowan feels guilty that he is stuck with them all again.

'Are you gonna leave us now?'

'What?'

'Are you gonna leave us now?' Cali asks once again, Rowan could hear the fear in her voice as she was scared too. She didn't want to go back out there; her arm was still in agony and did not have the strength to fight back.

They stood together, trying to think somewhat of a plan, something to get them all through the rest of the night. As they waited in silence the noise was interrupted by vehicles coming from outside of the apartment.

'Tell me that's not what I think it is' Rowan expressed her displeasure but she isn't the only one.

'You've gotta be fucking kidding me'

'Shh!'

'How did they find us?'

'Stay here. Don't move!' He warns them before walking away, Rowan knows that she should stay put but she doesn't listen and follows him. It doesn't take him long to realise he has a shadow, he quickly turns to face her.

'Stay here Rowan'

'Why? You can't go out there alone'

'I don't want you getting hurt, again'

'Yeah thanks for reminding me, I didn't realise I was that much of a burden' she snaps at him as she rolls her eyes.

'Please Rowan'

'You don't know how many is out there'

'And neither do you, look I am fast. I just want to see how many is there and how much of a chance we have. Make sure the others are safe, just stay here' he pleads for her to listen to him, just for once. He needs her safe, to get out of there while they can and she was holding him up from going out there.

'Fine, just don't leave us. We can't get that far without your help'

'I'll be back'

He turns his back to her and quietly as a mouse slips outside, taking a deep breath Rowan walks back to the others as they try to wait patiently for his return.

'Do you think he's gonna come back?' Cali asks, the tension is high and Rowan knows it won't be long until someone breaks.

'He is going to come back, we just have to stay calm and wait'

Rowan hopes that her statement will help them but it doesn't seem to work.

'What do we do if he doesn't?'

'He will, he promised'

They waited for what seemed an age, Rowan could not prevent herself from chewing on the edge of her thumb nail as she tapped her food against the ground.

 _Please come back_ she would constantly think to herself _Please don't be dead, come back. What's going on out there, what's taking so long. He should have been back by now_. Rowan tried her hardest to be brave for the others, keeping them all calm but inside she was almost breaking down herself. Scared that the group who tried to kill them earlier was going to finish the job and she was not going to see the end of the night. Rowan did not want the others to die none of them deserved this, no one deserved to die. F _uck the new founding fathers, fuck this night Rowan thought_. Her back rested against the wall, she looked back and forth between the others and the door that Leo had just walked through.

'Please come back' Eva muttered to herself before the door opened once again, Leo looked panicked as he walked towards them.

'They found us. Move fast, now. Come on'

Everyone does as he says and follows him outside without a second thought, they step back into the dark alleyway as he leads them to a chain-link fence.

'Move now. We have 30 seconds. Over the fence, fast. Now. Go!'

Liz and Shane are the first to climb over the fence, followed by Cali and Eva, Leo looks at Rowan and presses his forehead against hers.

'Look at me. You go, you get over that fence, you run. You don't stop. You run for your life. Do you understand?'

'Yes' she quietly answers, knowing she may not see him again.

'You don't fucking wait for me. Go. Go, go, go!'

Leo helps her over the fence, Eva is waiting for her on the other side as she knows that Rowan's arm may be problematic getting back down. Together they waited for Leo, staring at the metal fence before them. Rowan and the others were unaware of the danger sneaking behind them before it's too late. Rowan mouth is covered by a large hand before she is pulled back and dragged away, it was too late to warn Leo that there was danger on both sides


	17. Chapter 17

Rowan along with the others are pulled away from the fence, if they resisted, they would find themselves silenced with a fist or even kicked into submission. This had happened to Rowan as she attempted to get away and back to Leo, he had no idea what he was about to get into. They were thrown into the back of a small white truck before the door behind them was slammed shut. Rowan lay curled on the cold ground as her ribs throbbed in agony, she wouldn't be surprised if they broke a rib or two. Cali shuffles towards Rowan on her knees, concerned that her friend was badly hurt.

'Are you okay?'

'I just need a moment'

'Rowan...'

'I'm fine Cali, please just check on your mom' she replies, trying to reassure her that she was fine. It takes a moment but Cali moves back to her mom.

A few minutes later the doors are thrown open once again, this time Leo was forced into the back with the others. He landed on top of Rowan causing her chest to burst into pain, she cries out before he can scramble away.

'Rowan I'm sorry. What happened?' he asks Eva.

'She was fighting them, not doing what they wanted. They threw her to the ground and started kicking her. They may have broken something, she has been lying there for a while'

'We're going to be okay'

'How can you say that? I mean look where we are'

'Trust me'

Leo helps Rowan up from the floor and gets her to sit up, resting her back against the cold metal siding. The pain slowly subsiding but causes her discomfort, she places a hand onto her ribs adding a small amount of pressure.

'I'm sorry for hurting you'

'It wasn't your fault, you didn't know I was there' Rowan tells him 'But I don't think we are going to make out this time'

'We will'

The doors open and a man climbs in the back with them, he is wearing a white mask with the word God on the forehead followed by another; his face was painted white with patches of black around his eyes and lips. They were all ordered to sit against the side, joining Leo and Rowan. They didn't say anything before the truck started and began to drive away. Instead the pointed a gun at them, there was a flashlight attached to it and it was shone into their eyes. Rowan rested against Leo, her head resting onto his shoulder. It was hard for her to stay optimistic, especially after the change of events, she just this night to be over.

'How did you find us?' Cali bravely asked, Eva quietly tried to stop her.

'No, Cali, no'

The man pulls up his mask and finally reveals himself, not caring that they know what he looks like.

'We got lucky. I mean, we was roaming around out there all night. Just picking up the people who got away from those badass trucks. We get their scraps'

'Why haven't you just killed us already?'

'We're not Purging tonight. We don't need to kill anyone. We just need money. Right, bro?' he asks his accomplice but he doesn't speak a word 'Money!'

The truck comes to a stop with a screech, Rowan is scared she doesn't want to move or get out. She fears for what awaits them and has a gut feeling that something bad was about to happen.

'All right, let's go. Let's go, let's go, let's go!' the man ordered, Leo stood and helped her to stand up. Leo firmly takes a hold of her hand and leads her towards the open doors of the truck 'Come on, come on, let's go, let's go!'

'No, no, no! Who the fuck are they? What the fuck are you doing to us?' Liz yells, she tries her best to fight them but they keep shoving everyone towards two men waiting for them. Two men in suits, too nice to be purging.

'Don't let go of my hand' Leo warns her, she doesn't reply but her grip hardens onto his, she looks around hoping to find and opening so they can get away but there was none.

'I need my money, man. Let's go, let's do this'

'What are they doing?'

'It's all there' The man in the suit hands him a small bundle of cash, they were being paid to find people on the street but for what purpose.

'Yeah! Let's go! Let's go, move!'

'Get in there!'

The group are push and shoved towards the door of the building, Liz and Shane begin to fight them but are easily grabbed and carried inside. Seeing this Cali and Eva begin to panic as they too are forced inside leaving Rowan and Leo outside. A man in suit begins pointing a gun at the pair but Rowan refuses to let go of his hand, fearing what might happen to him or herself if she did. Leo and the man stare at one another, not saying a thing, Leo smirks and doesn't fight back. Together Leo and Rowan follow the others inside as the walk along a dark and dimly lit hallway.

'No!'

'Cali?'

'Mom!'

'Get up the stairs, now'

One of the hired goons' shoves Leo too hard, forcing him to realise his hold on Rowan and falling to the ground. The same man who pushed him hovers over him, takes a hold of Leo's jacket and pulls him back to his feet.

'Get up! Get up!'

'Leave him alone! He's up!'

'Rowan I'm okay'

They are pushed until they reach the narrow stairs until the reach the top, they arrive at an open space before them a blue curtain blocking their view.

'Get on your knees. Get down! Get down! Get on your knees. On your knees!'

They do what they are told as they are tossed to the ground, they aren't alone there are other people with them, none that Rowan recognises.

'Where are we? What is this?' Cali speaks up, but Leo warns her to be quiet. The men behind them were serious and carried some really big guns.

'Shh'

'If you move or speak, you will be shot'

The curtains ahead of them quickly opened and were blinded by a bright light, when Rowan's eyes were able to adjust, she was shocked by what she could see.

Ladies and gentlemen,  
the next batch has just arrived.  
Let's take a look, shall we?  
Quite an impressive lot, isn't it?  
Ladies and gentlemen, since this  
is the last Purge of the evening,  
the entry price will be $200,000.  
Mr. Lockhart!  
And his wonderful wife, Lauren.  
Fantastic.  
The Hanover sisters!  
Ah!  
I've been waiting all evening  
for your participation.  
Fantastic.  
And I assume you brought  
your signature blades.  
All right, one spot left.  
Anyone else?  
Mr. Hearst! Oh, wonderful!  
And will your handsome  
sons be joining you?  
\- What do you say, guys?  
\- Yeah, let's do it.  
Ladies and gentlemen, this will  
be Charles and Tom's first.  
I am so happy that you have  
this to share together.  
Oh, and one last reminder.  
The weapons rack is stocked  
with the latest and the greatest.  
And my personal favorite  
is the Mauser Elite  
SSX Double Barrel.  
It has a delicate trigger,  
and smoothest discharge.  
It is so precise,  
it's as if God  
handcrafted it himself.  
Well, that will do it.  
Purgers, please suit up.  
Good luck.  
Good luck. We'll see you shortly  
on the hunting grounds.


	18. Chapter 18

'What the fuck?' Rowan quietly muttered beside Leo, he looked at her for a moment as their eyes meet before they both look ahead of them.

They were being applauded as if they were beginning an act of a play, and in the audience sat small groups of people sitting at small round tables. This was what they were talking about online, the rich slaughtering others for money and in the safety of their own people.

'Quite an impressive lot, isn't it? Ladies and gentlemen, since this is the last Purge of the evening, the entry price will be $200,000'

The woman on the stage looked like someone's grandmother, a sweet old lady, wearing a beautiful blue gown with the finest jewelry. Instead of doing nice things like baking cookies, like normal grandmothers, she was inciting murder instead. Rowan reaches for Leo's hand once again, she is so scared that she feels herself grasping onto him so hard, worrying that she is crushing his fingers. He shows nothing on his face that she is causing him pain but instead gives her a reassuring squeeze.

'Mr. Lockhart! And his wonderful wife, Lauren. Fantastic' the older woman calls out, each of them willing to have blood on their hands 'The Hanover sisters! Ah! I've been waiting all evening for your participation. Fantastic. And I assume you brought your signature blades. All right, one spot left'

Rowan had begun to shake, she was scared, concerned that she and the others could not get out of this one. Even with Leo with them, she doubted the odds would be in their favour, there was too many rich pricks paying to kill them all.

'Anyone else? Mr. Hearst! Oh, wonderful! And will your handsome sons be joining you?'

'What do you say, guys?'

'Yeah, let's do it'

'Ladies and gentlemen, this will be Charles and Tom's first. I am so happy that you have this to share together. Oh, and one last reminder. The weapons rack is stocked with the latest and the greatest' the old woman went on, Rowan wanted her to shut the hell up and to get on with it 'And my personal favorite is the Mauser Elite SSX Double Barrel. It has a delicate trigger, and smoothest discharge. It is so precise, it's as if God handcrafted it himself. Well, that will do it. Purgers, please suit up. Good luck. Good luck. We'll see you shortly on the hunting grounds'

'Get up. Come on!'

'Get up! Get up! Get up! Quit stalling!' the goons yelled as they Rowan and the others were pulled back to their feet and frog marched from the stage

'Come on! Move your ass!'

'Okay! Stop fucking pushing me asshole!' Rowan answered back, having enough of her smart mouth one of the men pushed her so hard it caused her to fall over onto her hands and knees. Leo was helpless to do anything as he watches on, held back by the men in suits, she is pulled back to her feet not giving her a chance to look at her grazed hands. They throbbed and burned as she walked along the dark passages once again, not sure of what hell now awaited them.

'Move it! Go! Move it!'

'Fuck you, we're moving'

'Rowan!' Eva warned her, but Rowan wasn't going to listen.

'I don't give a shit, keep your fucking hands off of me'

'Get in there!'

They moved into a room before the doors were slammed behind them, Rowan could hear it being locked as she struggled to see anything. The room was dark and the lights shining from the ceiling did very little to lighten the room, no one could see anything in front of them as the all swarmed together. Rowan moves by Leo's side and takes his hand, she can feel someone holding onto the back of her shirt and doesn't look behind to see who it was.

'Stay close to me. Follow me. Move'

More lights flicker on but it does not make much of a difference. Leo leads them towards what appears to be a water fountain and squats down low to the floor.

'Get down. Get down, get down'

'Wait What is this?' Shane is the first to ask, Rowan moves down onto her knees before she rests her back down against the fountain the cold hard fountain.

'We're being hunted'

They hear a door open somewhere, but Rowan cannot see a thing as she tries to look around. She watches as Leo takes a peak over a small wall no doubt assessing to see what kind of shit they had gotten into.

'What?'


	19. Chapter 19

_This must be some sort of joke_ Rowan thought to herself as she cowered behind the low wall, _when is this night going to give us a fucking break._ Rowan was growing more pissed as the night wore on; tired of people trying to kill her as they tried to have their share of the purge.

'This cannot be happening' Rowan spoke up as she broke the silence 'Leo this has to stop, I can't take this shit anymore'

' _ **Blessed be the New Founding Fathers**_

 _ **for letting us Purge**_

 _ **and cleanse our souls.**_

 _ **Blessed be America, a nation reborn'**_

Leo leans close to Rowan and places his warm hand against her skin, cupping her cheek.

'It's going to be okay, were going to make it out of this. Just do as I say and don't do anything stupid, all of you. Stay down and don't move'

They remain still as the sound of gunshots filled the room; Rowan begins to shudder under his touch as his hand remains on her cheek. Leo presses his dry lips against her forehead, Rowan didn't want him to go. She had a feeling of what he was planning to do and putting himself on the line once again. He slowly away from her once again as he peers over the wall behind her, attempting to see if anyone was heading towards them. The coast was clear, but it wouldn't be long when they were found and slaughtered.

'All right, they're here. They're coming, and they got night vision. I gotta take one of them down. If we can't see, we're dead'

'We should come with you' Eva warns him.

'No, no, no. I need you to stay here' he answers as before his gaze meets Rowans.

'Leo you can't go out there by yourself, let one of us go with you'

'Don't go. I'm scared' Cali speaks up, before Leo can answer her, he shuffles over to Cali.

'I'm coming back, I'm coming back. Stay here'

'No!'

'Leo be careful' Rowan advises him before he gets up from the ground, and without hesitation walks into the darkness of the room. Leo is doing his best not to draw attention to himself, to get the element of surprise on those trying to cause them harm.

Rowan waits impatiently for Leo to return, the group remains in the shadows as they hear gunshots in the distance, followed by a scream and more shots. They are so loud Rowan can feel the floor vibrate, her nerves her shot as she worries about herself, the others, especially Leo. _Keep him safe_ Rowan silently prays, hoping someone out there is listening. It feels as if time had stopped, Rowan had no idea how long they had been sitting there waiting for Leo. Most especially she felt helpless just staying there, doing nothing and felt annoyed with herself. A warm, sweaty hand grasps onto hers, looking to her right she meets Liz's worried expression.

'He's going to be okay Rowan, Leo is strong. He will come back' Liz whispers.

'I hope so'

Rowan is pulled out of her thoughts when Leo arrives kneeling before them, his chest heaving as he attempts to catch his breath; carrying guns in his hand and wearing night vision glasses.

'Are you okay?'

'Fine. We only get three sets of eyes now, okay? Put those on. I took out four of these fuckers.

There's three left' Leo warns them as he places a gun in Liz's, shane's and Rowan's hands and gives them the glasses he had taken 'It's loaded. You point and you shoot'

Liz turns and looks over the stone wall, looking out for anyone heading their way.

'Someone's coming right at us'

'Light him up'

Rowan follows suit and begins firing her weapon, hoping her shots would hit the target.

'They're going. They're all gone. They're leaving' speaks up, Rowan could hear the relief as Liz sighed. Rowan thought it was too easy and the people who were trying to harm them wouldn't let this go so easily.

'Get down, get down'

Feeling a tug at the back of her shirt, Rowan moves back onto the floor facing Leo, something bad was going to happen she could faintly see the expression on his face. He knew too that something big shit was heading their way.

'Is it over?'

'Stay down'

'They're gone'

Suddenly the room is filled with light exposing their position to everyone, Rowan moves closer to Leo her body resting against his. Rowan hurriedly closes her eyes as the light almost blinds her, she quickly opens them once again as her eyes adjust to the light.

'They're coming back, aren't they?' Rowan whispers into his ear.

'I think so, get ready'

Rowan nods, holding her gun in her hand, she really missed her pistol that her mother gave her. It had become her safety blanket through the night and saved her ass more than a few times.

'What the fuck?' Shane asks Liz but she is just as confused as he was.

'What was that?'

Rowan looks over the wall and sees several men kick open the double doors of the room, each of them dressed in smart suits as if they had been to a fancy dinner at a restaurant. All of them were heading in their direction with the look of malice on their faces, holding their guns tightly in their hands. As they swarmed into the room, the men slowly and quietly began to circle them.

'There's a whole fucking army.I don't have any more bullets' Liz tells the group as she places her gun onto the ground, almost in silent surrender.

'Just hold my hand, baby'

'They're not gonna let us out of here. You make them earn it'

Rowan looks at Leo briefly, she felt there and then that she would die. If that was so, she was going to down fighting just as Leo said. Knowing that she was close to dying she makes her way to Leo; cupping his cheeks with her hands and closing her eyes, Rowan presses her mouth against his. Leo is surprised by her move that it takes some before he reacts. His mouth moves in rhythm against hers, Leo's tongue slowly slid into her mouth and massaging hers. Rowan is the first to pull away as her eyes gradually opening, she smiles back at him. He seemed to be in a trance for a moment before focusing on his surroundings again, Rowan does not look at the others as she feels embarrassed. She moves back to her spot, holding the gun tightly in her hands; ready to go down fighting.

'I'm sorry for everything' Shane quietly tells Liz as Rowan stays in position.

'I love you. I need you to know that'

Out of nowhere and before they can do anything Shane is shot, the bullets coming from behind Leo. Leo turns to the shooter who is standing at an open door, and immediately fires back. However, this time the man lives and escapes, it's too late for Shane as Liz bends down to his bloody form.

'No! No. Okay. Come on. Come on. Okay' Liz sobs as she struggles to pull Shane into her arms as she cradles his head against her chest, slowly rocking him against her body 'It's gonna be okay. You're okay. Okay, okay'

Leo places his hand onto LIz's arm in hopes to console her but her sobs are silenced by a loud explosion coming from somewhere inside the building.

'What is that?' Rowan asks.

'Oh, my God'

The loud explosion was soon followed by a large bright, flash of light and with a large bang. Soon followed by a rain of bullets, none of the group knew what was going on, they previously thought they were going to die but know their assassins were being slaughtered by unknown shooters.

' _ **The use of explosives higher than**_

 _ **Class 4 is prohibited on Purge Night.**_

 _ **You will be prosecuted.**_

 _ **The use of explosives higher**_

 _ **than Class 4 is prohibited...**_

 _ **The use of explosives higher than**_

 _ **Class 4 is prohibited on Purge Night.**_

 _ **You will be prosecuted.**_

 _ **The use of explosives higher than**_

 _ **Class 4 is prohibited on Purge Night.**_

 _ **You will be prosecuted'**_

All hell seemed to break loose, Rowan looked over to Leo who was just as confused as she was. Rowan just wanted to thank whoever was behind this for saving their lives, and killing those fuckers in the shadows waiting for them.

'Do not fire! We're here to help you! Take positions over there. We need a firing line. Let's go!'

Leo got back onto his feet, trying to get a better look of what was going on. He gestures to the others to stay down concerned that they were still in danger. As the newcomers made their way into the room, they fired their guns at the enemies, killing anyone who got in their path. Rowan remained seated on her ass when a group of men knelt down in front of the group, she didn't know who they were or if they were as bad as the ones who kidnapped them.

'Who the fuck are you?' Eva asks as a man came forward, a gun in his hands ready to fire if needed.

'Nobody special. Just some people who don't necessarily agree with the Purge is all'

'You're with Carmelo Johns'

'Yes'

'Fuck the New Founding Fathers! Fuck you! Fuck your money! And motherfuck the Purge!' A man yells as he walks into the room; forcing everyone to look in his direction as he fired his gun.

'Carmelo! We're over here'

Carmelo walks in their direction his gun in his hands and squatted down in front of them.

'I know you. You once said that the market mentality would no longer keep the American people stunted. "We are outraged and we're fighting back."' Cali speaks up.

'Nice to meet you, too, young lady'

'There's a lot of them out here'

'Yeah, well, there's more of us. We're more pissed off. It's time for them to feel what it's like. Change only comes when their blood spills'

'You might wanna get out of here. It's about to get nasty'

'Hey. We gotta go. Look at me. He's gone. Come on' Leo attempts to convince Liz to leave with them, but is too upset to leave Shane behind.

'I wanna Purge'

'Look, we'll take care of her' the stranger offers.

'Are you sure?' Leo questions, he knows there is nothing he can do to make Liz leave it was her choice.

'Go. We got it'

'Come on'

Leo takes Rowans hand and pulls her up off the floor, Cali and Eva gradually stand up both equally uneasy about leaving Liz behind.

'I'm sorry'

Rowan watches as Eva kisses the back of Liz's head as she cradled Shane's lifeless body in her arms. Rowan grabs Cali's hands as they rush towards the exist, picking up a gun from the dead bodies on the ground.

'Get ready to bleed, rich bitches! This is our time now!'


	20. Chapter 20

The sound of bullets echoed down the dark hallway was as Rowan attempted to catch up with Leo, Cali had let go of her hand and instead stuck by her mother's side. It took some time before they had found their way out; which lay into a parking garage. There inside a black SUV was the same women who sold them like cattle at an auction, escaping the carnage that lay inside. Leo stood tall in front of the car with his gun stretched in front of him as he aimed at the driver, Rowan remained by his side waiting to see if they would try and do something funny. After everything that happened to her, she did not trust anyone.

'Get out of the car. Leave the keys and get out of the car. Get out of the car!' he yelled losing his patience that they were taking their pretty time about it, meanwhile Cali and Eva pulled at the handles of the car as they climbed into backseat 'Rowan get in car, now!'

Instead of fighting him she does as he says and pushes past the male passenger of the car, claiming shotgun she sits down and closes the door behind her.

'Oh! Oh, God, no! No, don't shoot me. No. No, don't shoot me'

'Look at me!' Leo holds the back of the woman's head with a tight grip, whilst using his other to point his gun in her face. The woman terrified that he was going to use the weapon on her, but it would make him just as bad as she was.

'Please, don't shoot me'

'You don't deserve to live, you piece of shit. You remember me, okay? You remember me'

'Oh no!'

'Now, run. Run! Run!'

Leo releases the woman; he steps aside giving her room to move away as she escapes with her male companion.

'Faster!'

He takes a seat by Rowan as she nervously chews onto her thumb nail, Rowan wants to get out of there as soon as possible and to get to somewhere safe just until the purge was over. There wasn't much time left it was almost 6.15am and the alarms would call out around the city and put an end to this hell.

'Look, it's almost over' Cali warned them.

'No, there's still time. I can make it; I can make it'

Rowan looks behind her to Eva and Cali, after everything that they had suffered through he still wanted to go out there and purge. That he still wanted to get his revenge on that person who caused him pain. Turning back around to look out ahead of her she says nothing as Leo starts the engine and drives them all out of the garage.

 _ **There isn't much time left**_

 _ **in this year's Purge.**_

 _ **Get out there and make**_

 _ **yourself better citizens.**_

 _ **God be with you all.**_

They are on the road, heading out of the city and neither Rowan, Eva or Cali have no idea where they are heading or what Leo is going to do when he gets there. It isn't long until Leo stops the car outside a large suburban home, that has the usual defences to stop people getting inside.

'You want to tell us what we're doing here?' Eva asks quickly.

'Do you see that house on the corner? The owner of that house killed my son 12 months ago. Nicholas was coming home from school, and he swerved off the road. That bastard's blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit, but, you know, he got off on a technicality, so...' Leo begins, Rowan turns her head away from the window and looks back at him, he never told her the full story about why he wanted to purge. She could hear the pain through by his voice as he told them what had happened.

'Him and his wife and his two little kids, well, they live in that house, happily ever after. Two weeks ago, I came here and I disabled his back barricade That's what we're doing here want you both to stay in this car, do you understand me? I don't want you to move. You'll be safe. It's almost over'

'Leo you don't have to do this, everything that has happened to us and you still want to kill that man in there. You're better than that'

'Rowan you don't know me, stop pretending that you do'

'That's not what I am doing! I am trying to stop you from making the biggest mistake of your life. What happened to you and your wife was bad yes and I can't imagine what you have been through or what you're feeling, but if you do this you cannot take it back. It won't bring your son back, please think about what you are doing Leo' Rowan appealed to his better nature in hope that he would listen. He didn't answer her, ignoring her as if she had not spoken a word. Rowan then grasps onto his forearm, trying her best to stop him from getting out the vehicle.

'Don't, please'

'Let go of my arm'

'You can just stay here with us. And we can drive away and it'll be fine' Cali also tried her best to convince him but he wasn't having it.

'Let go of my arm. Let go of my arm Rowan'

'No, please. I know. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry about what happened to your son. Do not do this please. Just listen to me'

'Let go of my arm!' he raised his voice causing Rowan to jump and realise her hold of his arm 'Stay in this car'

Leo opens the car door and climbs outside before slamming it behind him, tears begin to fall down Rowan's cheeks as she watches helplessly from her seat. They watch as he walks towards the house, then slowly disappearing out of sight.

 _ **There are five minutes remaining in this year's Purge**_.

They sat in the car for some time without saying a word, finally Rowan had enough of waiting and was going to go inside that house to stop him from killing that man.

'Fuck this' Rowan spoke as she unbuckled her seatbelt.

'Rowan what are you doing?' Eva questions as she leans forward towards her.

'I'm going to stop him'

'Are you crazy? You don't know what he's doing in there. Leo's right you don't know him, no of us do. We don't know what he is capable of'

'Eva, I don't care I have to do something, I can't just sit here with a thumb up my ass' she answers 'Stay here I'll be fine I promise'

Moving out of the car Rowan quickly walks towards the house, just in time for the shutters of the front door to open. Leo walks outside with the weapon in his hand, blood still stained his shirt from earlier that night and she had no idea if he went through with it after all.

'Leo what did you do?!' she asks standing before him and shoves in the chest 'Did you kill him? Huh? Did you like it?'

'Ro...'

'We found your car, Sergeant. Your plates told us who you were'

Rowan turns to face the voice coming from behind her, standing there was the same man from the truck who had tried to kill her and her friends earlier that evening. Unfortunately, he had survived his wound, a large white strip across his face; covering his injury. Protectively Leo stood in front of her, keeping her out of sight from the crazed man.

'It was easy to see where you were headed tonight. Hell, I would've done the same thing. There's an unwritten Purge rule' the man continues as he raises his weapon at Leo 'Sergeant. Don't save lives. Tonight, we take lives'

Rowan quickly pushes Leo aside as the man fires his gun, the bullets miss him and instead it hits Rowan in the chest. The force of the bullet forces Rowan to fall backwards as she hits the ground hard, hitting the back of her head on the pavement.

'Rowan!'

The man now takes aim at Leo disappointed that he missed his intended target, Leo attempts to get to his feet but in gestured to remain on the ground.

'Such a shame, what a pretty little thing. We make things manageable for us. Unfortunately, the citizens aren't killing enough. So, we supplement it all to keep things balanced. It's important work the NFFA does and we can't have interference We can't have heroes. Oh, no, sir. No heroes' the man removes his cap before taking aim once more at Leo 'I hope you feel cleansed. Blessed be America, a nation reborn'

However, before he can fire his gun a shot hits him directly between the eyes, as he too falls backwards and collapsing to the ground. Leo scrambles over to Rowan, she is still conscious but losing blood fast. Rowan does to see who fired the gun, the person who had saved her life.

'Rowan, oh my god. This is all my fault, I'm...I'm so sorry' he stutters for the first time in his life as he cups her cheek, he then moves his hand and presses down on her wound. Rowan cries out in pain as Leo attempts to save her life.

Rowan hears footsteps coming towards her as she turns her head she watches as Eva and Cali make their way towards her and with them armed goons in masks, machine guns held in their hands. The siren blares before anything serious can happen, finally the end to a hellish night and knowing that those pricks cannot do anything to harm them. Hovering over her is a man she does not recognise, until Eva pushes him out the way and kneels by Rowan's side.

'Oh, no. Oh, God. Oh, my God. Oh. You got a car?' Eva asks the man.

'Uh... Uh, yes'

'You got a fucking car? Go get it now!'

'Yes, okay. Okay!' The man answers as he scrambles to his feet and runs off.

'Okay!'

'Okay. Come on, Cali. Come here and help me now, okay? Look at me! Do you want Rowan to survive? Leo? Then it's up to us. We gotta help her now, okay? Okay?' Eva looks at Leo, tears are running down his cheek as he looks down at Rowan 'Leo! Hey! Look at me! She is going to be alright but we have to get her to the hospital now. I need your help'

'Okay, okay'

'On three, we're gonna pick her up. One, two, three!'

Together Leo and Eva hoist Rowan up from the ground wrapping one of her arms around their necks. Rowan is finding it hard to stay awake and to get her legs working like they should, she just wanted to fall asleep.

'Come on! Come on! Hurry up and get that car!'

'Okay. Get in'

Eva climbed in the back seat first before Leo helped Rowan inside, her head rested against Eva's shoulder, Leo quickly followed suit and climbed inside; leaving Cali to sit in the front seat with the stranger.

'Hospital's not far. We'll be there in minutes'

'Come on, just hit it! Go, go, go!' Leo yelled 'Rowan hold on okay, stay with us'

'It's over. It's over' she muttered.

 _ **Just after 7:00 a.m., March 22nd,**_

 _ **and The Annual Purge**_

 _ **has just concluded.**_

 _ **This is your American**_

 _ **morning news program.**_

 _ **Reports are coming in from**_

 _ **all around the country,**_

 _ **as police, firefighters and**_

 _ **paramedics take to the streets,**_

 _ **assisting victims of last night.**_


End file.
